AJ Jackson and The Olympians
by RyRysamurai92
Summary: It's been about 20 years since the events of The Last Olympian took place. Percy and Annabeth have now settled down, but not without keeping their legacy from dying. This is the story of Achilles Jackson who struggles to live up to his family name.
1. Chapter 1

(note: even though i invented some of these characters they are based off the ideas and dreams of Greek mythology and Rick Riordan therefore I must say any character, place or thin mentioned that was in the Percy Jackson series it's all your Rick I'm just having a go at telling a story of your world too. another note Achilles Jackson is Percy's son now enjoy!)

AJ Jackson and the Olympians

Chapter 1: Hacking dummies, Capture the flag, and I-spy

Think of the most wonderful place you have ever visited. Ask yourself "is this the most wonderful place in the world?" Well if you said yes then well sorry kid you're wrong. I am a year round camper at a place where it never rains, and when I say never I mean never. It's never too hot or too cold there. There are fields with the most delicious strawberries ever. Plus there are archery ranges, Pegasi stables, sword fighting arenas, and woods filled with monsters. Did I lose you when I said pegasi stables, or when I said it never rains? I guess I better explain. My name is Achilles Jackson, but everybody just calls me AJ, and I live at this place called Camp Half-Blood. Now Camp Half-Blood isn't for your everyday average tubby Joe Shmoe. No, it's a place for Demigods or sons and daughters of the gods of Mount Olympus. Weird huh? The only problem is I'm an exception to that rule. Neither of my parents are gods, but both of my parents are half- bloods. Both of them were former campers, and they also saved the world together and everything so after some debate I finally got to stay here. Of course I don't remember that because I was only a baby at the time. For my first thirteen years at camp, my parents stayed with me as counselors at camp, but a few days after my fourteenth birthday my parents called it quits and went to go live in Manhattan, and that's where my story begins.

I was talking to my best friend Theo Fitzpatrick from Apollo cabin who is the god of light,music,and archery. We were talking on the steps in front of the big house finishing up our plans for capture the flag.

"Who's all on our team?" I asked

"Well, there's you, us in Apollo cabin, Athena cabin of course, Hermes cabin, and I think Hephaestus made an alliance with Athena so..."

"Wait, Hephaestus?" I asked

Hephaestus is the god of the forge, and his kids liked to make armor and swords and stuff. I always had a rocky relationship with them. One time I was trying to make a shield for myself, and don't ask me how, but I almost set the whole place on fire. They resented me ever since.

"AJ, you know we'll need them for the defensive line," Theo said "they are the only ones with the armor, and the strength to hold off Ares cabin."

"Yeah, but they will need your cabin as reinforcements, remember your in charge of the defensive and I'll deal with the offensive." I said

Theo smiled "I won't miss."

"Good," I said smiling back "So while you hold off Ares cabin me and Athena cabin will lead an assault on the left flank so to avoid center attention and possibly hit the weak point of border patrol like Mr.D's kids or Demeter Cabin."

"Your forgetting Aphrodite cabin." Theo mentioned grinning

"what?"

"Dude, Hector knows your soft for their cabin, that's why he begged them to switched sides."

"I am not soft for Aphrodite cabin!" I snapped,

Just then I saw Jordan Summers from Aphrodite cabin. She had started camp two years ago when she was twelve and in a couple of months she would be fourteen. She had flowing brown hair and baby brown eyes, she wore the orange Camp Half-Blood shirt that everybody wore, and short jean shorts because of the warm weather of July. As usual her make-up was flawless, but the best part was she didn't apply so much that it hid her true face, it just made her look a little more beautiful. As she crossed the big house, she saw us sitting on the steps. Theo wasn't paying any attention, and when she saw me she smiled and said "Hey AJ." she kept walking to the stables. My face was all hot hoping I wasn't blushing.

"Not soft for Aphrodite cabin huh?" Theo said smiling

"Shut up," I said hitting him lightly on the shoulder, "We'll figure it out." I decided,

"Ok, whatever you say." Theo laughed and walked off. I shook my head and took another drink of bottled water. Deep down I knew he was right, but I had to man up about this so I decided to go to the arena to whoop some straw-dummy butt. Unfortunately when I got there, I saw a whole bunch of people from Ares cabin, the god of war. To put it lightly, Ares' kids are ugly, fat, mean, morons who happen to know how to fight. I took out my sword Riptide, which was a gift from dad when I turned seven. It's pretty much the best sword ever because when I'm not using it. It conveniently turns into a normal ball-point pen. Another neat feature is that you absolutely positively cannot lose it. It automatically comes back in your pocket when you drop it or something. Of course I always wondered what would happen if you had a hole in your pockets. Anyway like I was saying I got out my sword Riptide and tried to mind my own business, and just like I expected Hector, the head counselor of Ares cabin walked over. "Ready for capture the flag?" he sneered

"Ready as I'll ever be." I said not looking at him instead cutting up the dummy.

"You better watch it Jackson cuz mommy's not here to help you now." Hector said

I ignored him

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" he said and he shoved me. I faced him and raised my sword. Hector took out his own and was about to strike me with it when an arrow shot it out of his hand.

"Boys! What are you doing!"

"Chiron!" I said shocked that I didn't hear him come in.

"Can't you two ever get along?" asked Chiron

I capped riptide, Hector had backed up and walked away.

"AJ, are you picking fights again?" Chiron asked

"No," I said "Hector is."

Chiron nodded "You know, both of your namesakes fought against each other in the Trojan war."

"Yeah, but who won that fight!" I challenged,

Chiron sighed, "I see the struggle between you two might last a lifetime. Oh and remember maiming isn't allowed in capture the flag." Chiron trotted off

About ten minutes before the game I suited up in my greek armor. In the middle of my chestplate was the chariot which symbolizes Poseidon and Athena working together which were my grandparents. Then I went to the forest to meet up with my team. Theo and the Apollo cabin were there already with Athena, Hermes, and Hephaestus cabins.

"What's the plan of attack AJ?" Theo asked

"Ok," I said "Apollo cabin will act as border patrol take all enemies who approach out of commission. If you are overrun Hephaestus will act as the second wave, along with Hermes cabin. Meanwhile I'll lead Athena cabin into enemy territory and fall right into their trap."

"What!" Dennis from Athena cabin yelled

"Let me explain," I said "Hector is expecting me to be subdued by the Aphrodite cabin long enough for him to retrieve the flag. I'll appear to wander stupidly into a well sprung trap and while they take me captive and are preoccupied the whole Athena squad can take them by surprise, get the flag, and run back for our site."

"Sounds good to me." Theo said

Just then Chiron walked up to the creek where both teams were now assembled.

"Heroes!" He announced "The rules are no maiming, no killing, The flag must be in clear view of the opposing team, the creek is the boundary line, everything in the forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. I will act as referee and medic. Good luck to both teams and play nice."

Both teams went to their respective site and the conch horn blew in the distance. I uncapped Riptide and beckoned Athena cabin to follow me. We jumped over the creek. The boar and bloody spear flag was in the distance, but that wasn't my plan. We scouted the outskirts of their territory until we found them. The Aphrodite cabin. "Someone's got to come with me." I said

"I'll go." said James a sixteen year old.

"Alright" I said "Let's go."

I raised Riptide, and James readied his spear."

"Ready?" I asked

"Ready to get pounced by a whole bunch of hot girls? are you kidding me? Lets go."

We walked into the clearing and right away we were spotted. It didn't take them long to "beat us." It ended up that we both had swords to our throat in like two minutes. One of them confiscated our weapons, and there we were defenseless. Jordan, who was the one who had the sword to my neck then took the weapons. She held out riptide in her free hand. "I'll keep this safe for you AJ, while we win." She winked at me and she and her half sister gave us over to a convoy of other Aphrodite campers to lead us to their prison. "Now!" I thought in my head. And almost synchronized with my thoughts My Athena brethren jumped into battle. For a while the Athena cabin was driving them back. I expected Dionysus campers and Demeter campers to come to their aid, but they didn't seem to be around. That seemed odd. Then I realized what was happening but it was too late. Ares campers jumped out of the trees engaging the Athena campers "Fall back!" I commanded but my mouth was soon covered by the hand of Meagan an Aphrodite camper. "Quiet Prisoner!" she ordered. The campers didn't hear or respond to my order they were soon all on the ground groaning. The Ares and Aphrodite campers whooped in victory. Among the campers Hector stepped forward and saw me. He grinned unpleasantly. "You're too easy to follow Achilles Jackson." He said "You can't beat me." Then he walked up to me and punched me in the face. I fell to the ground. "Hey!" James protested and he soon was on the ground beside me.

"Come on guys!" Hector bellowed "Let's finish this." Then they ran toward our territory. James and I got to our feet. "Are you alright?" I asked him,

"Yeah," He said but now I know what Hector's punching bag feels like.

The rest of the Aphrodite camp led us to the jail, which was a bunch of iron cells with barred doors in the woods. Jordan came over to me standing right outside my cell.

"Sorry Hector was so rough on you." she said "I'll talk to him after dinner." I nodded not really caring. It was nice Jordan apologized I just hated getting felt sorry for. They then all walked off leaving me and James alone."You know, if she and Hector weren't going out I'd try and hook you guys up." James said

I got a little red "Um.. Thanks I guess." That's all I could say.

We just sat there for forty five minutes. We ended up playing "I-spy" It seemed that James was a very good spier until after the 1,000th guess I gave up and he said "Ok, it's that one leaf hanging from that third tree to the right, see it sticking out a couple inches more than the others."

I wanted to strangle him, but aside from the bars between us. I don't think my grandma would appreciate that very much. After a while I saw Ares cabin rush back with our flag. The conch blew, and the game was over. We lost.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Camp songs, bondings, and Jeopardy games

I felt a tiny bit better about losing after I hit the showers. I inherited my dad's powers of rejuvenation in water so I didn't feel so battle weary. I'd like to say everyone else on our team shared my

forgiving attitude, that they said "It's alright AJ we'll get em next time." Nope, most of them lectured me on how disappointed they were. Not meaning to brag, but I usually led the team to victory.

Heck, even one guy from Hermes cabin yelled at me because his lucky Nike shoes were officially not lucky anymore. Anyway when it was time, I went over to the mess hall. After scraping off a beautiful

piece of chicken and half a baked potato into the fire I went to go sit at the "AJ" table. Remember when I told you that they made an exception for me to live a Camp Half-Blood? Well I'm not the son of

any gods so they couldn't put me in any of the cabins so Mr.D (the camp director) thought it would be a good idea if I had to make my own cabin. With some help from my mom who is a brilliant

architect and my cyclops uncle Tyson, we managed to put together a cabin that matched the others in quality. On the table thing, The different cabins for some reason can't intermingle tables. So Mr.D

provided me with a small desk and chair for me to eat my food, and people called that the "AJ" table. While I was in the middle of my chicken sandwich I noticed that my pockets fealt empty. I had

realized Jordan still had Riptide. I figured I'd ask her for it after the campfire so the rest of her sisters wouldn't giggle at me like they always did. Every night after dinner the whole camp gathered

around a huge campfire and sing songs. Naturally Apollo cabin led the songs. Songs like "99 Hydra heads on the wall," "I know an old god who swallowed a fly," and the Trojan War "Chitty chitty clang

clang." After the campers have a good time Mr.D stands, and he says good night in his own little way tonight it was

"I know we are all having fun, but it is time you all go to sleep. You see I get sick of you all after ten hours of all of your shenanigans, Telamachus!!!" Mr. D looked over at the head counselor of the

Hermes cabin who grinned mischievously. "Any way," continued Mr.D, "Congratulations on the boring- I mean nail biting performance into today's capture the flag. Ares, Dionysus, Aphrodite, and

Demeter cabins are chore free for a week. Now go to sleep you hooligans." He yawned, took a sip of Diet Coke, and walked off.

"He was in a good mood today." Theo said to me

"Yeah," I agreed "He didn't turn anyone into a shrub or anything today!"

Theo yawned "Well tonight AJ"

"See ya in the morning." I said

After everyone had moved off, I started off toward the cabins. When I got to the "U" shape formation of cabins, everyone had already had went inside except for two people. I hid behind another cabin

to listen in to the conversation.

"Baby, what do you mean? Jackson deserved a good punch in the face." Hector said

"What did he do to you Hector?" Jordan asked

"He doesn't have to do anything." Hector responded "Jackson is a piece of scum who needs to be shown his place, and that's groveling before me!"

I think he's sweet." Jordan said

Hector slapped her, "No Jordan! Jackson is the enemy!"

I balled my fists, this wasn't right.

"Why do you hate him?!" Jordan demanded

"Because our fathers were enemies, because our namesakes were enemies, because he thinks he's so smart, and because he's always getting in my way!"

"You're impossible!"

"Just shut up!" Hector bellowed and he stormed into his cabin.

Right then and there, Jordan started crying. This was terrible. Hector was terrible.

I have to talk to her, I thought.

The truth was, I hardly ever did actually talk to her. Theo always dragged me up to her, but I'd end up getting red and run off, but she was hurt so I swallowed the rock in my throat and went over.

The whole time I was thinking of what to say.

"Umm. Hey." I said,

Jordan looked at me, tears were making her makeup go all runny. "Oh, Hi AJ." she said wiping her tears away.

"I-um, I saw what happened between you and Hector."

"You saw that?"

"Yeah," I said, "thanks for sticking up for me."

"I told you I would." she said rubbing her face.

"Are you alright?" I asked,

"I'll be fine." she said,

"Come on" I said "let's get you to your cabin." We started walking slowly together "You shouldn't let him hit you like that, or let him talk to you that way." I said,

"I know," she said "but I can't stand up to him by myself."

"Yes you can." I said, "You should talk to him tomorrow, I'll be watching in case he hits you again."

"You'd do that for me?" she asked

"Yeah," I said

"Thank you AJ." she said with a small smile, it was then I noticed that we were in front of her cabin.

"Don't mention it," I said "You should probably get some sleep."

"Yeah," she agreed,

"Well, see you tomorrow." I said

"Ok." she said, and I started to walk off, then I remembered what I came over there for. I turned around

"Jordan!" I called

She appeared back in the doorway, and I walked over.

"I kinda need my sword back."

Jordan laughed "I forgot, sorry!" she fished the ball pint pen out of her shorts and gave it to me. Then without warning she kissed me on the cheek and closed the door. All of the sudden I felt

extremely happy, like I won a contest or something. I went over to my cabin singing 'Chitty Chitty Clang Clang." loudly, a little to loud, so loud that someone from the Hermes cabin yelled "Oh My Gods,

Shut Up And Go To Sleep!!!"

I laughed to myself, and I went to my cabin. At Camp Half-Blood all of the Cabins distinguished themselves. Apollo cabin looked like it was made of gold, Demeter cabin was covered in flowers, and

Poseidon cabin had coral all over it. My cabin looked like a mini Parthenon. You know like the one in Greece. It had the pillars and everything. On one side of the front door stood the statue of a man

with a fine cut bear in Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. He also carried a trident. I recognized him as my grandfather Poseidon. On the other side of the door, stood the statue of a woman in a

flowing robe. She had a beautiful face, she had a battle helmet propped over her head, and she had an owl perched on her shoulder. This statue resembled my grandmother Athena. Inside the cabin

was nothing special. It looked like the typical room that a teenager lived in. There was a bed to one side and a desk to the other. The desk was filled with fact books on the presidents, geography,

Architecture, Greek Myth, World History, and just about any other topic. The cabin was unique for its carpet flooring. My battle armor lay in various places on the floor. At the back of the cabin was a

mist fountain, which was something given to me by Gramps since my parents left so I could stay in contact. I had regrettably promised my mom that I'd call every, and I had not done that yet so I

decided to make a call. I got out my flashlight and propped it so it made a rainbow. I took a Drachma , which is a Greek coin, and I murmured "Oh goddess accept my offering." then I threw the

Drachma into the rainbow, and it vanished. "Show me Annabeth Jackson." I said

The rainbow changed into a living room. The TV was on, and apparently mom was watching Jeopardy. I listened in for the question.

"This rebellion took place in the colonial era concerning foreclosed farmers, it ultimately shot down the articles of confederation."

My mom's face showed she was clueless

"What is Shay's rebellion!" I shouted intentionally

"AHHHH!" Mom screamed in shock; she jumped and turned toward my voice

"AJ, why did you scare me like that" At the same time someone buzzed in

"Mike!" Alex acknowledged

"What is Shay's Rebellion?"  
"Yes."

I smiled at mom proud of myself.

"How'd you know that?" mom smiled,

"Cuz I'm your kid." I said

"So AJ how was your day, did you win capture the flag?"

"No" I said

"Don't feel bad." she said "We all have to lose some time."

"So how's the city?" I asked eager to change the subject,

"Well my job at the museum is doing really well, and your father is doing well as a basketball coach, its nice to be monster free every once and a while."

"That's great mom." I said

"AJ you should come visit sometime, we- is that lipstick on your cheek?

"Huh?" I asked then I remembered "Oh, yeah right about that."

"Was it that girl you've been crushing over?"

"I've not been crushing over anybody!"

"Denial..." she sang,

"MOM!"

"Ok ok! Whatever you say." My mom smiled

"It's getting late." I said

"Ok sweetie get your rest." Mom said,

"Tell dad I said hey." I said

"Ok AJ, Good night."

"Night mom." I switched off the flashlight and the rainbow faded.

I placed Riptide on my desk, and then brushed the Doritos crumbs off my blankets. I got into bed, and I soon drifted to sleep.

(Note) I started this project before The Last Olympian came out so The part about the Big Three and the minor gods not having kids there at camp is not in the first couple chapters but trust me I improvised the best way I could to keep the story going and sound like this could happen in accordance to the story.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: I battle my rival

I woke around seven the next morning. I decided to wait over at the mess hall. No one was there yet. Not unusual for this early in the morning. I went over to the activity board, and there was nothing

planned for today. A few minutes later, I heard the clip- clopping of horse feet coming.

"Up early?" it was Chiron

"Hey." I smiled, I liked Chiron, he was one of my best mentors. He trained my father, who saved the world, my mother who became the greatest heroine ever, and she also oversaw the reconstruction

of Olympus, and he also trained all of the cool heroes of ancient Greece like my name sake Achilles, and Hercules.

"Hungry?" he asked

"A little," I responded

"I'm sorry you lost yesterday" Chiron said

"I can't believe Hector fooled me." I said a little irritated

"Ares may not the smartest apple on the family tree, but he knows how to fight."

So do I!" I protested, "I am the grandson of the goddess of wisdom of wisdom and battle."

"Yes but the abilities you have are not nearly as strong as a demigods I am surprised you retained most of the demigod traits."

"What are you talking about?" I asked "I can breathe under water, I can talk to horses and fish, I'm one of the best swordsmen around, I am the best at chariot racing, I read for fun, so how can you

say I am worse than anyone here!"

Chiron sighed, "So determined, like your mother, you want to prove yourself."

"I do want to prove my-"

A conch horn blew, and a whole bunch of campers were now heading toward the mess hall. Chiron smiled "Enjoy your breakfast AJ, we'll talk later."

So I went over to get my food. I got a bowl of froot loops. After dumping half of it in the fire I made a little prayer to my grandparents. I ate quickly and dismissed myself from the pavilion. I went off to

the sword arena to practice. In a matter of minutes several dummy heads were on the floor. Dad always i inherited his skills. On top of that I had my whole life I had my whole life to train. I felt like I

could do anything. I was invincible. Sweat was began to appear on my face after dummy number forty-five. I then heard arguing outside. I capped Riptide and headed toward the exit.

"-Are brutal, selfish, and mean!" yelled Jordan

Hector shrugged "I'm the son of Ares! It's who I am!"

"Then that's it, I can't take it anymore!"

"You're dumping me!?" Hector demanded,

"Yes!" Jordan said

Hector raised his arm to strike.

"Enough!" The words fell out of my mouth something in my brain forced me to say it.

Hector turned to me "Stay out of this Jackson, or you are next!" Hector roared

I had no choice, Jordan was in trouble, I uncapped Riptide. "Let's go!" I said

Hector laughed, "I've been waiting for this opportunity." He took the weapon that was strapped to his back. It was a giant war hammer. Hector yelled as he charged with incredible strength. He swung

at me, and I narrowly dodged. The sound as it hit the ground was unbelievable. To me it sounded like a sonic boom. I swung my sword at Hector as he tried to lift his hammer back up. He used his

pain as his power and lifted the hammer with force. He swung and this time he hit his mark. Me. I flew right into a tree. I was surprised I was still conscious. I then realized that even before it began I

had no chance against a fully rested Hector after I had been training in the arena. I saw him swing again, knocking me unconscious.

I woke up in the big house with the taste of ambrosia in my mouth. I opened my eyes to find Jordan spoon feeding me

"That was sweet what you did back there." she said smiling

"Yeah, and really painful," I said rubbing my forehead.

"Maybe this will make it feel better." She moved my bangs out of the way and kissed my forehead.

"What happened to Hector?" I asked,

"He abandoned the camp grounds." she said, "We don't have to worry about him."

"Are you alright?" I asked her

"better than you." she said smiling

"That's good." I said smiling and then I passed out again. The next time I woke up my hair was being ruffled by my mom.

"Mom?"

"Hi sweetie," she said sounding relieved I was up, "I came here as soon as I heard. The girl outside said you pulled quite a dangerous stunt."

"You know," I said "Same ol same ol." I smiled, I was glad she was here.

"Picking fights with a son of Ares is never wise." mom said

"But standing by and watch the defenseless go down is worse." I responded

Mom sighed "You are just like your father."

"Where is dad?  
"Talking to Chiron," she said "Something has come up."

"What is it?"

"I can't tell you hun," she said messing with my hair some more, "you know you really need to cut your hair."

"Why can't you tell me?" I persisted

"Its something me and your father will have to deal with, it's not your concern."

I was now getting upset, "Let me come too!" I demanded

"No, you are not ready for this challenge."

"Yes I am!" I insisted and with that I passed out again. It must have been a long time since I woke up again because I woke up feeling stronger than ever. Feeling very restless, I got up to walk

around. Sure enough I was in good shape. I walked outside for some fresh air. That's when an arrow whizzed right past my head. I looked to where the arrow came from, and I saw something

horrible, impossible eve. An army of monsters in the campgrounds. There was no time to take this in however. I leaped into battle. I uncapped Riptide and stabbed the closest Dracnae. I fought my

way over to the battling centaur Chiron.

"What's- Whoah! - Going on here!?" I asked

"Your parents failed AJ." Chiron said shooting three Dracnae at a time.

"What?" I asked stabbing another Dracnae."

"There is no time to explain, just fight!"

with that I went to go fight a Laistrygonian. In minutes the camp seemed to be winning. The Ares kids and Apollo kids were able to make the enemy retreat, the Athena and Hephaestus cabins were

working together spring traps like sticky Greek fire, and giant monster seeking arrows from giant crossbows. Even the Demeter campers held their own. One of them named Jason did something I've

never seen a Demeter kid do before. There were pinecones on the ground, and he was able to control them. So he fired them at enemies sending them packing. After we cut down the last Hell-hound,

I felt a humongous surge of energy, and I mean three thousand hydrogen bombs huge only not as loud or radioactive. 'What's going on?!" I asked Chiron. Chiron's eyes were wide with fear, and

when Chiron was scared that was a good sign to drop what you were doing and run for your life. "He's here!" Was the only thing he said. I turned and saw a seven foot man walking our way. The

only thing he wore was a loin cloth. His body was night black and he sparkled like the stars. He had eyes but no pupils or iris. He was the source of the power. This wasn't right, I didn't feel this much

power when I saw my grandfather, or the time I met Zeus. They didn't generate nearly this much energy.

"Who are you?" I asked trying to sound brave?"

"I am Ouranous!" The man said, when he said this thunder boomed, and his voice had a deep echo in it. With that he stretched out his arm and a giant meteor could suddenly be seen falling from the

sky. Summoning up my strength, I willed the water from the nearby bathrooms to shoot a beam back at the meteor. It had enough pressure to destroy it, but then Ouranous stretched out his other

hand and blasted me with a giant beam of energy. I flew back thirty feet.

"AJ!" Jordan ran to my side, as well as Chiron and Theo.

"I'm fine guys." I insisted and got up.

"Your defiance amuses me, so I will let you live for now." Ouranous said,

"What do you want here?"

The man just shrugged "Just reclaim what is mine, my wife, my kingdom, and you my great great grandson will soon join me or be destroyed.

"You can't win!" I yelled back

Ouranous laughed "Tell you what hero! I'll give you a chance. I'll give you three days to defeat me after that, I unleash my full power on Olympus, this camp, and you. If you win you get your parents

back, not to mention your friends." Ouranous snapped his fingers and there was a flash of light. I was stunned, but after I got over my daze, I noticed that half the camp dissappeared. Jordan, Theo,

Dennis. They were gone.

"What did you do to them!" I demanded facing Ouranous

"Don't worry young hero, Tartarus is a safe enough prison for your friends, at least for now. If you defeat me they will appear back to you, but if you fail, I will let them rot or allow them to be eaten by

my monstouros sons." I shivered at the thought. Ouranous laughed again and dissappeared in a giant flash of light. Chiron trotted up to me and sighed.

"We must seek the Oracle, we need a quest."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Promises to a Baby Horse

Now it used to be that the Oracle was an old mummy in the attic of the Big House. Now the spirit of the Oracle rests in the soul of a mid-thirties woman named Rachel Dare. The problem was she was

stationed at our recently made west camp about thirty miles from where we were. The problem was that if you wanted to get to the west camp you had to walk. There was no road or path to take it

was just a long stretch of forest behind the capture the flag area. I was not looking forward to this. Before we could set out, Chiron insisted we have a council meeting. All meetings were held in the

big house.

"We've got to save those campers!" Jeff head councler of Apollo cabin declared,

"And how do you suppose we do that?" James replied sharply, "Ouranous is the father of the titans; there's no way a bunch of Demigods can stand up to his full power."

"Maybe if we hit him with everything we have..." Jeff began,

"No! It won't work!" James snapped

"Even so!" Herman from Ares cabin declared "Will we let our friends suffer torture and death to the monsters that lie within the bowels of Tartarus? No! We must fight no matter the odds against us

We are heroes, so let us act as heroes!"

I nodded in agreement and in wonder. A son of Ares had never spoke with such wisdom and power.

"And so," Herman continued, "Since the children of Athena are too frightened to go on this mission, then I will!"

"I will go too!" I volunteered,

"Pipe down Jackson!" Otis from Hephaestus cabin replied "You are not even a demigod, besides you had your round with Ouranous and you failed!"

I balled my fists "At least I tried!" I said angrily "Where were you, playing with your stupid trinkets!?"

"We don't have time to bicker amongst ourselves." Chiron interceded "Now Otis, AJ has trained all of his life for this chance, and this is it. I say he desrves to lead this quest."

"Bah!" said Mr.D "He is not even a half-blood. How could he possibly defeat Ouranus? He can't even win a game of capture the flag."

"It doesn't matter." Chiron replied coolly "AJ doesn't just have a point to prove, his parents are in danger as well!"

"Why would that make a difference?" Mr.D responded,

"He's highly experienced, probably the best since his father! This quest needs him."

"Fine! Mr.D surrendered, "The boy can go, but I leave you PJ..."

"AJ," I corrected

"CJ, with this reminder, if you fail the consquences will be fatal to us all."

"AJ, which companions will you take?" Chiron asked,

I thought about this question, "This quest is different." I said "I think I need one member from each cabin."

"There he goes!" Mr.D complained "Breaking all the ancient laws just like his parents did!"

"I suppose you're right." Chiron said ignoring Mr.D's complaints "That means all that are here shall go. Now once you are ready make for the west camp. There you will consult the Oracle and hopefully

the Minor gods' children will want to help out too, this meeting is adjourned."

I packed rather fast, a pack of fresh clothes, two bottles of water, a baggie of ambrosia, and a canteen of nectar. No one was quite ready yet, so I went down to the stables. This was one of Jordan's

favorite places. Thanks to her, all of the pegasi got a good meal every day. As usual the stables reeked distantly of poop and hay. When I was in sight, the pegasi were all a little shocked to see me

instead of Jordan.

"Um my lord, where is the master?" one of them asked

"Yes!" another agreed "Master smells good, like perfume!"

"Well it's nice to see you too guys." I said going for the horse feed.

"No offence meant my lord, but we much prefer our master."

I didn't have the heart to tell them what really happened to Jordan. I just told them she went away for a while.

"Like a vacation!" one of them said exited!

"Yeah," I lied "Something like that." I poured the feed into their bowls, and I filled their water buckets. At the very back of the stables was Jordan's very own pegasus. It was given to her as a gift for

the charity work she did with all of them everyday. Her pegasus was rather little because it was born only a few months after Jordan came here two years ago. Her name was Penelope.

"Hi little one." I said trying to smile and give her the feed."

She looked at the food, and then at me, "Why did master leave without saying good bye?" she asked

Uh-oh, I thought in my head so I thought up something "You know what" I said "She said she had to leave in a , so she told me to tell you that she loves you very much, and that she will miss you and

will see you in a couple of days. Oh and she told me to give you this." I stretched out my hand and there were two sugar cubes in them. She ate them happily.

"You are a good boy AJ." she said "giving me messages and all." I smiled, and adjusted the strap on my bag. Penelope noticed, "Are you going aways too?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah," I said "I'll make sure the other campers look out for you." Penelope looked up from her bowl gratefully. "Well I have to go," I said

"Ok, have fun on your va- va-"

"Vacation?" I offered,

"Yes,"

"Ok thanks," I said going for the door,

"And AJ?" she said, I looked back "Will you promise to take me on a vacation one day?"

"I promise," I said smiling, but inside my brain was like "LIAR LIAR LIAR!" Then I turned to leave. Twilight was now approaching, and I knew we had to leave soon. I made my way up to the cabins

where now mostly everyone was assembled. Only Telemachus from Hermes cabin and Lauren from Aphrodite cabin were not ready. I walked over to Chiron.

"You ready for your first quest?" he asked,

"I hope so." I said

"Well you're on the clock now AJ. Now I must tell you something, Ouranous couldn't have come to this world unless the sky hit the ground somewhere, my guess is Mt. Tamalpais."

"Doesn't Atlas hold up the sky there?" I asked

"Yes AJ, your parents have fought him before, but this... Not even Atlas would give up his load and allow Ouranous to escape."

"How come?" I asked "Ouranous and Atlas are both evil"

"No AJ," Chiron said, "In the first ever struggle of power, the titans sought to overthrow Ouranous, their father, for he had thrown their brothers into Tartarus merely because they were ugly."

"That's awful!" I commented,

"Yes AJ it is, now Atlas and the other titans all banded together to fight him, but none prevailed."

"Then how did they win?" I asked

"I'm getting to that part be patient." Chiron said a little annoyed, "My father Kronos was the titans' only hope, and he wielded a scythe. Kronos stood against his father and defeated him. Kronos was

then king and Ouranous lie broken and weak. Now as you know, Kronos became corrupted by his power, and the Gods revolted against him, and when the gods won Atlas's punishment was to hold

upp the sky so Ouranous may never return. For even Atlas knew that if Ouranous ever returned, not only would the gods be destroyed, but so would he for his treason against him."

"Then what could have happened?" I asked

"I don't know." Chiron admitted "But in case you fight Ouranous again, I want to give you this." Chiron held out a sheathed sword about five feet long.

"But I don't need a sword, I have Riptide."

"Anaklusmos is a good companion in battle, but to face Ouranous you will need yet another cursed blade." I unsheathed the sword. The blade was bizarre. It had a celestial bronze side and a steel side.

"Its name is Backbiter." Chiron said

"I know this blade." I said quietly "Mom used to tell me stories of it when she told me about her adventures. This is the sword of Luke Castellan, the sword of Kronos."

"Then you would remember this blade's origins?" Chiron asked

"Yes," I said "This sword is the same stuff that was in Kronos' scythe."

"Exactly." Chiron said, "This is Ouranous's bane, his only weakness." I took the sword and strapped it to my waist. Chiron then wished me good luck and trotted off. I looked back and noticed

Telemechaus was now ready.

"Where is Lauren?" I asked a little annoyed,

"Probably still packing her Italian shoes and eyeliner." Hermen joked, Telemechus and Belerius from Diyonysus cabin laughed.

"Oh my gods! We have to leave now! We have less then three days!" I said angrily and marched off toward Aphrodite cabin. I knocked on the door. Lauren answered with a facemask. "Oh hi Aj what's up? Lauren asked,

"Whats up? really? I said "We're about to leave and you- you are-"

"Prettying up for the big quest what's the big deal?"

"We have three days, plus why would you care how you looked, we won't be doing anything great for the next couple days."

"You always have to be prepared, if a cute spirit or god comes along.

"Are you kidding me? Ok you are done so clean that stuff off your face we are leaving."

"Ok! Ok!" Lauren said "I'll be out in a sec." A few minutes later she came out with five bags.

"Are you really going to carry all of those?" I asked,

"Well I was hoping you would carry a few." She said and then gave me the puppy dog eyes look.

"Yeahhh- no that only works when- Never mind."

"When what? Lauren persisted

"I said never mind, now put all of those back, and only bring what you can carry." She disappeared back into her cabin, and came back with one bag.

"Now if I was Jordan you would have carried all five of those bags wouldn't you?" she asked as she passed. She laughed when I didn't answer and nudged me. Then we went to join the others.

"Alright," I said, "It looks like we are ready to go."

"bout time." someone said, followed by snickers.

"We will make our way to the west camp through the forest." I said "Lets move!" by now it was dark, so I tossed a few people flashlights. I looked back at Camp Half-Blood one last time. Then we pressed forth into the darkness.

(Author's note) I know this chapter didn't follow up the last with the action it deserved, but please sit tight; the next one is pack full of it. I'll post it whenever I can… Glad you guys liked the first three chapters. I hope this story is standing strong. Please tell me what you think.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 : We Beat Up Old Ladies

I didn't know which was creepier, the fact that I was in a monster infested wood, or the fact I was in a forest, at night, with a son of Hermes possibly contemplating some prank or making his way to

my drachma pouch. I had never been in the woods at night for three reasons. One, it would be past curfew. Two, I was kinda afraid of getting eaten by a hungry harpy, and three, I wasn't dumb enough to stroll right into a cocoon of blood thirsty monsters.

Aside from the crickets, our footsteps, and Lauren's complaining about her nails, it was pretty quiet. Sure I felt the fluorescent eyes of beasts staring at us every once and a while, but I was trying stay

upbeat.

"So far so good." Jason said trying to be optimistic.

"Shh!" Herman commanded, "Are you crazy! Just tell them all that we're here why don't ya!"

We walked, I guess, fifteen miles in silence, already Lauren was asleep. Herman carried her. That was when Herman stopped and looked around calmly but franticly at the same time.

"I smell something." He said

"Smell what?" Jeff asked nervously reaching for his bow

"Yeah, are you sure that its not just Lauren's perfume?" Belerius asked,

"No!" Herman insisted, "Something is watching us!" Herman drew his sword, he placed Lauren carelessly on the ground. We all stood quiet. Herman was always second in command back at camp. He

had trained his senses to almost match up with a satyrs, at that time I was glad he was there.

"Monsters?" Jason asked,

"No," Herman said, It smells... different, not mortal, but not a monster... more like a nymph, but I also smell fermented grapes."

We all looked at Belerius,

"Don't look at me!" He said "I'm right here, and no one else from my cabin is around either."

Lauren stirred, "Ewww, why am I on the ground! Herman you Jerk!" All of the sudden there was a loud screech of a woman.

"What was that?" I asked, Several other screams responded to the first one. They were all around us. I uncapped Riptide. The WHAM! Out from the trees, a woman dive-bombed me. I slashed

instinctively and she exploded into dust.

"You idiot!" Herman yelled dodging a swipe from one of the other women in the dark. "Don't kill them!

"Why," I asked, "What are they?"

"Manids!" James exclaimed "Nymphs, worshipers of Dionysus"

"Wonderful!" I yelled sarcastically, avoiding another manid, "Why are they attacking us then!"

"Well," James said knocking a manid off balance, "They're not known for being sober, I'll tell ya that."

"If we can't kill them, we better think of something fast!" Jeff yelled, Another one took a swipe at me with her long celestial knife and I got a good look at her. She was an extremely old lady and looked

at me like I was a three headed monster. She smelled of alcohol, and a lot of it.

"Aloofhadamatees!" she proclaimed,

I felt bad hitting an old grandma, but hey when their pointing knives at you, its time to get to smackin. I hit her with the hilt of Riptide, and she slumped to the ground unconscious. Another good thing

about fighting extremely drunk, senile women, is that they get to the point where trees look like people. Some of them ran into a tree, and knocked themselves out. There were three left. They yelled

and hollered like monkeys. This was actually kinda sad,

"Stand aside Jackson!" Otis commanded, he had a sphere in his hand. He threw it, and a net sprang out, tangling all the manids within it.

"Let's go before they figure out a way out of that." Otis said

"For once I agree with you." I said and we all sprinted away from the scene. We walked again in silence for about, five miles. Worn from the battle, and having already walked a considerable distance,

it was needless to say that we were tired. I tried desperately to press on, I wasn't about to lose time because I was a little tired. My friends needed me, My parents needed me, Jordan needed me. In

line with my thoughts, Herman spoke, "AJ, the group can't take much more, we must make camp for tonight." Every one murmured words of agreement. I wanted to argue, but everyone was

exhausted.

"Fine," I said "but we leave first thing in the morning."

"Agreed," Jeff said and he unfolded a sleeping bag, everyone else did the same. Within five minutes most of the group was asleep. We had decided we didn't need a watch system with such a big

group.

"My opinion still stands," I heard Otis say, I turned to face him, and I saw he was the only one left standing. "You do not belong on this quest. I don't care who you are, you are not a half-blood."

I was not in the mood to argue, "What would make you change your mind?" I asked,

"Nothing," he said "You have not yet proven yourself a worthy leader, you lost capture the flag, you lost against Hector, and you lost against Ouranous. What makes you think you are ready now?"

"I assure you I am ready Otis." I said, "I promise we'll win."

Otis stared at me, "I'm watching you Jackson!" he said "If you screw up, I'm taking over." With that he walked off. I lied down on my own sleeping bag. For a long while I stared up at the night sky. It

was beautiful. I could see millions of stars, and eventually I dozed off to sleep.

Ok my dream was like this, I saw into a large dungeon. It was quiet, musty and enormous. I've never seen such a huge prison. It was like a large never-ending hallway. Then from the left I saw people

running in to the scene. I recognized them all immediately. My Parents, then Jordan, and in the back with bow drawn and firing was Theo. Then I saw what they were running from. It was a Drakon the

size of a school bus. Theo fought bravely. The Drakon slashed, but Theo rolled aside and fired at his throat.

"Aim for the eyes!" My mom called. Theo retreated for distance and readied an arrow. He aimed, fired and Bingo! It hit the right spot. The Drakon tumbled over. Then dad ran up and beheaded it. Theo

collapsed on the ground with exhaustion. My mother leaned him against the wall.

"We can't keep this up forever." dad said

"No, the children are both exhausted." mom agreed

Jordan was in the corner crying, Theo was trying to comfort her, but so far he was not successful.

"Things are looking pretty grim." mom said

"Don't worry Mrs. Jackson," Theo said, "AJ will come through." Theo said,

That's when mom broke down. Dad put his arm around her. All I could hear her say over her sobs were. "My son, My poor AJ."

"Annabeth," Dad said, "We, and Chiron have trained AJ since he was very little, he is ready."

"I know he is strong," mom said, "but how can he do something we couldn't?"

He put his hand on her shoulder, "He will," Now I don't know if he said that just for her sake, or if he actually thought his ol boy could actually defeat Ouranous. Well whatever he meant, it made mom

stop crying. Theo was not as lucky with Jordan. All he could do was let his shoulder get drenched with her tears.

Then there was laughing, terrible laughing, like nails going across a chalkboard. Dad looked up as if he recognized this laugh. Then out of thin air a shade appeared. Its whole body was covered in

shadow as if blot out. The only thing visible beyond the veil were its golden eyes.

"Perseus Jackson." The shade said, "You have no idea how long I've waited to see you in this place."

"Kronos." Dad said coldly drawing his sword,

Theo stood, his hand firmly gripping his bow, unsure of what to do.

"Calm down you filthy human, you have nothing to fear, I have no power here." Kronos said

"Where is here?" Theo asked,

"Tartarus," Kronos said "I must say Percy, you disappoint me, not being able to stand against my father."  
"Shut up!" Dad yelled, he swung his sword and the blade passed straight through Kronos.

"You're arrogance blinds you once more half-blood." Kronos said,

"I am a mere spirit here, my body is gone, irretrievable now, all because of you I might add!"

"Then leave us alone!" Mom yelled "You have nothing to gain here."

"No," Kronos agreed, "I was actually feeling quite generous, I thought you might want to know why you couldn't defeat my father."

"Why?" Mom asked,

"You don't know daughter of Athena?" Kronos taunted, "What would you're mother think?"

"There is a differnce between knowledge and wisdom." mom yelled,

"Whatever, now pay attention, my blade is key, my scythe, I trust you know of what I speak. That weapon was specially crafted to defeat my father. That is the key to my father's demise."

"But Backbiter was destroyed!" Dad said "How does that help us now?"

"Your memory escapes you half-blood, soon after I was um- vanquished my scythe, or sword rather was reformed, both as a spoil of war, and to remember that accursed half-blood Castellan. I also

thought you might want to know that you're son has this very weapon in his possession."

Jordan's face lit up, "AJ?"

"Yes my dear," Kronos said looking at her, "He cares for you deeply doesn't he?" he asked

"I don't - I'm not sure." she said

"Yes... The boy does have an attachment of some sort to you."

"What..?"

"Don't mind my prattle my dear girl." said Kronos "I just find it amusing, all that the boy cares for is present here. Wouldn't it be tragic if he lost them all."

No one answered,

Kronos laughed horribly, "Yes that would be amusing, especially since he is present here at this very moment."

"What! Where!" Jordan demanded looking around.

"Clearly your son has inherited your power of sight." Kronos said to my dad. Then Kronos turned, staring directly at me. His eyes burrowed into mine. "Yes Amusing." He said quietly and a two headed

drakon appeared. The monster turned on me as well. I tried to run, but couldn't seem to move in this dream. The creature lunged and the vision went black. I heard my mother scream and Kronos's

evil cackle, and that was all...


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Our group turns into an army

I woke with a start. I sat on the grass for a few moments trying to register what I had saw. I never had nightmares that were so vivid it was as if it actually happened. I looked up and saw that everyone else was already awake and eating a quick breakfast.

"We were just about to wake you." Herman said, "Looks like your night was rough."

"Yeah," I said quietly, it had to be real, I thought to myself, which meant everyone was alive, but it also meant that they were all in grave danger. I packed up my minicamp quickly and I picked up the unsheathed Backbiter. It was a little on the heavy side for my taste, but the length was fantastic; its size surpassed that of Riptide by a portion. It was a beautiful blade indeed. I sheathed it and strapped it to my waist.

It was a short walk from there to West Camp Half Blood. The architecture of it almost mirrored it. It actually used to be that all the minor-god campers were at the original Camp Half-Blood, but the place was just too crowded for anyone to handle. Also no offence to them, but when it came to capture the flag, they rarely stood a chance. There was also an alternate set of the Big Three cabins. Those guys were an interesting crowd for a while, but again they were in a league of their own when it came to competitions, so they for the most part captained the minor god campers. Argus came up to meet us. He's the dude with eyes all over his body. One time Chiron told me this story that Argus became the international dodge ball champion one year. I thought it was pretty cool, but when I asked Argus about it he seemed to think it was no big deal. Anyway, Argus actually used to work at Camp Half-Blood, but after fifty or so years of work the guy needed a change of scenery, so he came to work as security for West Camp Half-Blood. We followed Argus into the Big house, and we all sat down. Nobody else was in there.

"Where's the Camp Director?" I asked Argus

He looked up and I did the same. Then there was a flash, when I got over my daze I heard Lauren scream "Look!"

I looked back where I did before, and there was a - spirit or ghost type person. I was slightly shocked to see it, but somehow I knew it wasn't dangerous. The ghost was male, he looked old, and he wore shabby robes so he kinda looked like one of those monastery monks. He smiled at us.

"Hello campers, welcome to West Camp Half-Blood."

"OMG! It talks!" Lauren yelled stupidly,

"Yes dear I do talk." said the ghost "Eight languages actually, I sing too, wanna hear some opera I picked up a few years ago?" Without waiting for an answer, the ghost started to sing a low opera.

"Excuse me-sir." Jeff interrupted "But we need to see the camp director."

"Gracious, boy you're looking at him!" said the ghost "I am Mentor, the director of this camp."

"Mentor?" I said asking my brain through Greek Mythology.

"Yes, you see other than my bottom end and my erm- physical state, I'm not that different then your Chiron. I too have a history of training heroes.

"Like Odysseus and his son." James said

"Yes, well said son of Athena, now that we've all met lets get down to business shall we?"

Everyone seemed to agree."Now, Ms. Dare is currently teaching a class right now, but I feel this is more, Let us go down to the Amphitheater if you will. We all walked down the cabin side. There were cabins for Eros, Nike, Hecate, Janus, Nemesis, Aurora, Morpheus, Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Proteus, and a few others.

"Hey?" I asked "Aren't there more minor gods than this where's Helios? Selene?"

"My boy," said Mentor grimly "They have faded from our world. It must be a sad thing to be forgotten."

"Oh," I said, I felt like an idiot, I heard about fading before from the stories mom told me. One day a god would be living life as usual then they get sick and eventually poof.

We got to the amphitheater and once inside we saw Rachael Dare, the Oracle. Though at the moment she was talking to two boys who looked exactly like each other. They both had seaweed green eyes, and black hair, they were both buff and tall. One of them caught my eye, and I cursed

"Dude! It's Our Nephew!" One said as he bear hugged me,

"Hey AJ, its been a while!" said the other, and he patted my head.

"Hey Creon, hey Eddie I said miserably breaking from Creon's grip

"Creon and Eddie are the twin sons of Poseidon, my grandfather, they were both seventeen, but then they took pride in annoying the Hades out of me, when they were back at Camp Half-Blood.

"Man, its cool seeing you again," Eddie said,

"I don't have time to catch up." I said

"We know." they both said

"Wittle Chillie kins got his first quest." Creon laughed,

"You guys are morons." I said waling over to Rachael.

"Hello Ms. Dare." I said casually,

"If it isn't Achilles Jackson," Rachael said happily how are you?"

"Not now," I said coldly," I said coldly, I knew if my mom were present she would have hit me upside the head for being so rude but there's time to be polite after a Super-Titan isn't trying to take over the world. "I need a quest prophesy."

"Oh," she said a little hurt "I guess that's all I'm good for these days, very well, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, when she opened them they were shining green. "I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python, Come seeker and ask"

"How do I stop Ouranous?" I asked

Now I've seen a lot of freaky stuff, but what happened next tops them all. Rachael began to speak as if there were three of her. That wasn't all visions flashed before me, sometimes I saw Chiron and Mr.D, sometimes my parents Theo and Jordan in Tartarus, sometimes Penelope back at the stables, Hector, and People I've never seen before, one was a buff lady, another was a normal everyday anthill, and some flashed by so fast I couldn't see, while these occurred Rachael spoke.

"The Fellowship goes forth to face the threat in the west

to find the titan fallen and end his deadly rest

only with allies of those you can't trust

will restore balance and all that is unjust

The fate of a hero one must receive

or the captives of the space lord may never leave."

Rachael's eyes dimmed back to normal, and I stood there stunned I tried to sink everything in. "You get everything you needed?" Rachael asked,

"No," I answered truthfully,

"The oracle is notorious for not being specific." James said,

"At least we know where to start," Herman said,

"Yeah!" Lauren said, "West!"

"Ah yes! A common archetype the journey west." Mentor said,

"I'm not liking those last lines." said Jason,

"I agree," Otis said "A hero's fate often means death," I gulped, then Argus came in the room followed by a dozen half-bloods.

"Ah! this is the quest team I trust?" Mentor asked Argus nodded,

Eddie turned toward me, "Isn't that great nephew, now I can go with you on your big quest!"

"Aw No!" I yelled "Don't tell me you're coming too!"

"Yep!" Eddie said "You'll need all the help you can get for this quest, and since I'm so nice, I volunteered.

"I suppose," I said stiffly "Who are the rest of these guys?"

"Alright, nephew open your ears!" Eddie warned

"Stop calling me that!" I said

"Whatever." Eddie said he started at the end of the line of half-bloods. He walked up to a boy about my age, jet-black hair, sleeveless shirt, electric blue eyes, cargo shorts, and a dog tag with the symbol of a lightning bolt on it. "This is Zeke, son of Zeus, he's one of our best fighters, he doesn't talk much, but he's handy to have around." Eddie walked next to a girl about sixteen, no doubt a goth girl. Her persona was kinda creepy, she had a black leather jacket and a spiked choker. "This is Angel, daughter of Hades, she's pretty good at fighting too, don't let her appearance fool you she's quite cheery." She flashed me a quick smile. Eddie moved down to a seventeenish oldish boy. He had a quiver and a bow. He wore a pink polo shirt and khaki pants, he was rather scrawny, the weird thing was a long black band was wrapped over his eyes.

"Ummm why...?" I began

"Ever heard of love is blind?" Eddie asked, "Well this is Coops, son of Eros god of courtly love, Poor Coops was born blind, but his skills at archery rival that of a hunter of Artemis." as he said this he revealed a discus and hurled it across the room. Coops readied his bow and fired. The discus shattered.

"Impressive," Jeff commented,

Coops flashed a bright a smile "Thanks bro!"

Eddie moved down the line, I tried to memorize all the names but, I just couldn't do it. Eddie wrapped up with a daughter of Iris, her name was Violet, she caught my attention because since Iris ran the rainbow communication system, and we had her daughter along it meant free communication!

"Well, you guys better get going." Mentor said

"Do you have any means of transportation?" I asked

"I'm afraid," Mentor said,

"How are we supposed to get to California in three days on foot!" I asked

"California?" Belarius asked "but the prophesy only mentions west where did you get California from?"

"It's a theory Chiron had." I said, and I explained everything Chiron told me,

"So.... The sky is falling?" Lauren asked

"Well it is the only way for Ouranous to return!" Mentor said

"I thought if the load of Atlas was abandoned, the world would be crushed!" James said

"No son," Mentor said "It's a gradual process, see the sky is very big all of the sky can't fall all at once it takes time. Once the sky completely falls, Ouranous will be at full power, everything within 100 leagues will be crushed, and he will be virtually unstoppable."

"How much time would you guess would it take for the sky to fall?" Eddie asked

Mentor thought: Three days at the most."

"We'll never get there in time!" I said in anger.

"May I have a word with you privately Achilles?" I nodded, and followed Mentor out the door. He gave me a harsh look. "You disappoint me Achilles" Mentor said,

"I don't understand."

"You've given up before you've begun," he said "Chiron always told me you were ready to prove yourself, now prove yourself!"

"but-"

"No excuses, you have a noble name Achilles Jackson, you have the name in perhaps all the history of Greece! Now cowering and giving up, shames his memory."

"I didn't choose my name!" I said harshly "I am not Achilles!"

"Ah, but you have no idea how alike the two of you are."

"Last time I checked with an impenetrable skin for armor."

"No consider this, may I ask you a question Achilles?"

"I guess,"

"Why did your parents name you Achilles?"

"Because," I said remembering, "It was to teach me that I'm just as good as anyone else even though I'm not a half-blood, because Achilles wasn't the son of any gods, a nymph maybe, but the point was he wasn't a half-blood, like me."

"You see Achilles? You two are very much alike, and even though I didn't train him I know he wouldn't just give up! Your name is a powerful thing Achilles, I know you're spirit is strong enough. The whole world is riding on you Achilles, your family and friends especially!"

"I know." I said quietly, I half wanted to tell him about my dream of my parents and friends in Tartarus, but I also didn't think it was a good idea to put another problem on everyone's shoulders.

"You will prevail Achilles, I can feel it in these old bones."

"You don't have any bones."

"You know what i mean!"

"You're right Mentor," I said "I must do this." I unsheathed Backbiter. "For all of us."

It was noon when we were ready, couples said their good byes. We got last minute tips from Mentor, and it took us thirty minutes to figure out who had been stealing everyone's wallet, it turns out it wasn't Telamuchus, as I suspected, but it was Carl son of Janus. So our group- all 22 of us- began our journey west. Despite my doubt, I had a quest to complete, and I wouldn't stop till my last breath to try and finish.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Old Friends

Mentor set things up for us so we got a ride to the bus station. We thought it would be a good idea to get a rid to the airport from there. Angel, the daughter of Hades reminded us constantly that

she'd cover all of the ticket costs. I didn't really understand how someone could afford twenty five plane tickets, but I guess if your dad is the god of precious metals you get some serious birthday

cash. I felt awkward to say the least when I got on the bus. The bus driver kinda freaked when he saw all these teenagers in armor- or whatever he saw through the mist- he muttered something

about stupid kids and costume parties. The bus was already half full so we had to take up as much space as possible to fit everyone. After a body odor filled bus trip and went into the airport, Angel

insisted that we wait while she bought tickets. I kinda wondered how it would be possible to buy tickets for 25 people without reserving them and still be able to go, but I didn't ask.

Time seems to speed up when everyone you care about is in danger, I tied to sit, but I was too nervous. I paced back and forth up and down the aisle.

"Jackson!" a shiver went down my spine, I knew that voice, I turned and my fear was confirmed. It was Hector.

"I hoped I'd find you here." he said, "My dad says there is trouble afoot, I'm here to help!"

"We don't need your help." I said venomously,

"Look, I'm sorry I got you hurt, but we can deal with that later."

"You got ME hurt!" I yelled losing my temper, "I'm pretty sure I wasn't the one most hurt by you!"

"That didn't concern you!"

"I beg to differ, when you hurt my friends, I hurt you."

"Jackson cut the personal crap, I came to offer my help. Let me make it up to Jordan by helping you save her."

"You don't give a damn about Jordan!" I spat "You just want to tag along because your hoping to get your stupid glory!"

"No I don't Jackson," Hector said coolly, "Look, I don't want to be squashed by the sky, anymore than you do, so just let me help!"

I stared angrily at him for several moments. Herman walked up next to me. "AJ remember the prophecy, 'only with allies you can't trust."'

That thought had not occurred to me. The last thing I needed was Hector, a complete control freak and anger flooded rival tagging along, but when it came to the prophecy, Hector fit the bill quite

nicely. I looked back at Hector, and tried to devise a way at saying what I was about to say as harshly as possible. "I'll let you go, but if you screw up, one anger explosion, even one complaint against

someone else, and you're walking home- Herman tell Angel we need another ticket."

Hector said nothing but he went to sit on the waiting benches with everyone else. A couple minutes later Angel came over with the tickets. "Come on guys, the terminal is this way."

We dashed quickly to the terminal and then on to the plane. We all rode coach, and in a couple minutes we were in the air. My breathing ironically slowed, once we were in the air, the noise of all the

half-bloods were making was far too loud to hear anything the fight attendant was saying. Our safety was now in the hands of Lord Zeus, which I didn't worry about since we had his son onboard. Still

after we landed it would be close to nightfall even with the help of the time changes. We would only have a whole night and a day left. Despite all of this tension and noise, I was feeling at peace, I

closed my eyes and sleep came to me, but so did the dreams.

My dream went like this, It was night time and I was in a valley of grass somewhere. Flowers were in bloom. The land was immaculate. All of the sudden there was a flash of light and a familiar

presence came upon me. Ouranous. He walked quietly alone for a few minutes staring at the stars, but then his blank gaze fell to the grass.

"My wife!" he bellowed with a deep echo, "I demand your presence."

The setting fell deathly silent; even the wind did not make a sound. Suddenly the ground rumbled. A giant unbloomed rose burst from the ground growing to the size of a small tree. The rose

immediately blossomed. To my amazement I saw that there was a woman within the rose. She leaped gracefully out of the plant, and landed upright on the grass below. Her beauty was stunning; she

had deep green eyes and bushy brown hair. She wore a green short sleeve shirt that read "Go Green" on the front. She also wore Levi Jeans. She wore no shoes.

"What do you want Ouranous?" the woman spat,

"My dear Gaea," Ouranous said reaching out to touch her cheek, "You are beautiful as always."

Gaea swatted his hand away, "I told you Ouranous, I want nothing to do with you, our relationship has long been over."

"Yes," Ouranous agreed, "Too long." Once again Ouranous move in on Gaea this time kissing her, only to be shoved away by her. "One day you will remember to treat me with the upmost respect."

Ouranous said coolly,

"Pssh, how can I respect a man who's too afraid to speak to me in front of my real husband, Pontus?"

"I do not fear your Ocean." Ouranous snapped "I'll be sure to deal with him once I regain all my strength."

"You will never gain your power." Gaea replied,

"You don't really expect Jackson to last even a second against me?" Ouranous mused

"Yes," Gaea said "I believe he will defeat you, I'll have you know tha-"

"He's on this way here?" Yes I'm well aware of everything he's done thus far, including assembling a pathetic band of half bloods, and obtaining that sword that could be my undoing. I do not fear

however, an entire legion of my best creatures awaits him when he reaches the mountain, and I have another trick up my sleeve for when they arrive, which was only possible through your grandson

Zeus."

Gaea gasped,

"You know of what I speak don't you? What a clever woman you are. Too bad your half-bloods do not share your knowledge. I think that you believe in those disgusting mortals only because you are

forced to. Once they are gone my return is certain, and so is the return of our unbreakable bond, we will be together again, and forever this time."

Gaea spat at his feet.

"Ouranous smiled evily, "I'll leave you alone for now, but once I return back to power, I'll marvel at the way you treat me then."

There was another flash of light and the scene changed. I recognized the place the vision changed to, Tartarus. There was a fire going somehow, and some sort of meat was cooking. My dad was

tending the flames. My mom was drawing something that looked like escape plans with some chalk she kept in a pouch. Then all of the sudden she threw the chalk across the room. "This place is full

proof," she said in defeat "There is no way out of here." I turned to my friends and immediately realized that there was more of them. About eight or nine half-bloods were in the corner. They all looked

exhausted, Theo was either passed out or asleep on the ground, he was breathing heavily. Then I turned to Jordan. She looked very tired. Her hair was dirty, and her face was in a state of silent fear.

I wanted nothing more than to tell her it was going to be okay, but I knew I couldn't. The bottom of her Camp half-blood shirt was torn off, and it was wrapped around a wound on her arm. Theo no

doubt mended it, it was wrapped expertly. The dungeon was quiet aside from the crackling flames.

"Please hurry AJ," Jordan said quietly, "We all believe in you down here, I know you can't hear me but you are the bravest and kindest person I know, and I wish I could tell you that I put my faith in

you, I believe in you AJ."

"How sweet." said the all too familiar naily voice, Kronos had returned.

"Kronos, spare us your heartless speeches and leave." my dad yelled getting to his feet."

"Easy, easy," said Kronos "I come in peace."

"Why do I have trouble believing that?" Mom asked,

"I came," said Kronos, "Thinking you would like an update on your son Achilles," he smiled when everyone looked interested.

"He is now on a plane, on his way to face my father, he has also grouped up with a bunch of Minor god Half-bloods."

"Why are you so happy to tell us this news?" Jordan asked

"Because my sweet little girl," said Kronos, "I have no love for my father, sure I hate all of you too, but if there is ever a chance to annoy my father by softening the mind of his prisoner than I'll do it."

"How noble."

"Now for the bad news," Kronos said still grinning, "Complications will arise quickly for our young hero."

"What are you talking about?" Jordan asked,

"Nothing your boyfriend can't handle, but I can't say for sure my dear. With his presence so close I sense his fear."

Kronos's shade turned on me, his golden eyes burned into mine. I heard his cackle ringing within my ears. There was a giant flash and all went dark. Then something started rumbling. I woke to the voice of one of the flight attendants'. "I hope you have enjoyed your flight with us, welcome to Hawaii


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: I Fight a Girl

When I first realized I was leading a quest, I knew it was inevitable that there would be mistakes, but when I realized that we had just taken a plane to Hawaii, it flushed all other mistakes down the

toilet. As soon as we got off the plane I ran over to Angel.

"Why in Hades are we in Hawaii! I told you we needed to get to California,"

Angel smiled sheepishly, "I am sorry for my deception," she said, "but I knew you would never agree to come here."

"Why would we need to come here?" I asked trying my best to stay calm,

"Look," Angel said, "There are only twenty-six of us against Ouranous and I don't know how many monsters, the more allies we have, the better."

I nodded understanding her logic, but then all of the sudden I was confused again. "What ally would we find in Hawaii?"

Angel smiled again but didn't get a chance to speak.

"The Amazons," I turned around and it was Zeke, son of Zeus. "I gave Angel the idea of coming here."

"The Amazons live in Hawaii?" Jeff (son of Apollo if you've forgotten) asked,

"They used to rule it." Zeke said, "Heard of Queen Liliuokalani?"

I nodded recognizing the last queen of Hawaii, Jeff seemed to understand too.

"Amazon,"

"So how do we find these guys?" Hector asked, walking over to the circle, I threw him a venomous look.

"Well there are several entrances to the Amazon's domain." Zeke explained, "Their village is well protected by the mist, restricted places on the beach usually.

"Then we have no time to lose." I said, "let's go!"

We left the airport, and then we took a bus to the nearest beach. It was getting dark fast, so our group ran behind Zeke as he dashed toward a giant mound of sand, I turned to Eddie ( Son of

Poseidon) as we ran

"How-" I began

"Don't worry nephew," he said laughing "Zeke knows his stuff!"

In about five minutes we were all gathered around the large sand mass, Zeke was examining it carefully. I looked out to the sea. It was a beautiful sight to behold. It was now night outside, and I

couldn't tell what was the sky, and what was the ocean There were so many stars, but then I remembered it was the sky we would be fighting the next day.

"Found it!" exclaimed Zeke he pointed out a coral shell with a Greek letter on it, Alpha, for the Amazons.

Zeke toughed the shell and the ground started to rumble. The sand parted as if invisible walls were pushing back revealing an underground staircase. I handed Zeke my flashlight.

"Lead the way?" I asked,

"He shook his head, "It's not my quest to lead." I nodded and took point down the staircase. Everyone followed, the staircase led to a tunnel which after a while opened up into a large underground

dome. In the dome was a village. Large houses around a large fire and the largest mailboxes I've ever seen. It was like Bigfoot town. Then I saw one. The woman was Seven foot five; her arms were

so big even Chuck Norris would run for cover. She reminded me alot of the people in Ares cabin. She had with her a bow and a sheathed sword. Her clothes was a Hawaiian tourism shirt that said

"Aloha!" on it. It didn't take her long to spot us. She let out a scream that sounded something like a busted bagpipe and charged. My fingers moved instinctively toward Riptide.

"Don't" Zeke breathed,

"Yes," James agreed,, "If you draw she will attack."

"She isn't attacking?" I asked panicked,

"It's a test Jackson!" Otis said as if I should have known that.

"What should I do?"

"Just stay calm, it's alright." Zeke said

The Amazon halted at the last possible second, she stared at me angrily as if to say, "If you don't leave now, I'll tear your arms from your body, and eat them."

"What is your purpose here!" she boomed

"We-uh." I started

"Be more assertive." Zeke whispered

I took a deep breath, "We have come for your help, a great threat is upon us, we ask that your people help us."

The Amazon grunted, "We Amazons are a proud people, I will take you to our queen, she will decide if you are worthy of our help."

She then turned on her heels and walked toward the center of the village, and we all quietly followed. Before we could enter the inner circle of the village, the Amazon turned on us again. She revealed a large sack.

"I will now confiscate your weapons; I do not trust you outlanders."

It sounded reasonable to me, I put Backbiter in the sack, but I kept Riptide away in my pocket. The truth was, I didn't trust these Amazons either. They seemed like a brutal bunch. The rest of our

group placed all of their weapons inside the sack. Once she was sure that all of our weapons were in the sack, the Amazon allowed us to enter. There were roughly fifty Amazons in the village circle,

and they all looked as scary as the one we already met. The Amazon that let us in went over to a somewhat larger woman. This Amazon was clad in leather and wore a beautiful sash of silk. I

recognized her as their leader.

"You do know who that is don't you?" Zeke whispered to me,

"I know who that is!" Jeff said,

My mind raced, _Amazons, a sash, a belt, a girdle, didn't one of the Amazons have a girdle?_ I remembered the task of Heracles where he retrieved the girdle of- It clicked, I figured it out, but before I could

answer the leader spoke.

"Demigods," she spoke, "I am Hippolyta, the leader of the Amazons, I know of the danger you speak, and no we will not help you."

"What?" I said in disbelief, "Why not?"

"Because mortal, we are not as foolish as you are, we are no problem to Ouranous, even when he rules he will let us live in peace."

"You forget my lady," James stepped up, "Ouranous was a tyrannous leader, he was rash and demanded complete control, I doubt he will allow you to live on his own terms."

"Then we will resist his rule." Hippolyta replied,

"Then he will destroy you." Eddie responded,

"We Amazons are a powerful people, we can defeat any threat that opposes us." Hippolyta said,

"Then help us!" I pleaded, "We demigods are a strong people too, but we are not strong enough to defeat Ouranous alone."

"You speak as if you were one of them, mortal." Hippolyta mused,

"I am." I said darkly,

"You are no Half-Blood Achilles Jackson!" Hippolyta declared,

"That is beside the point," I dismissed, "Ouranous has abducted our friends and thrown them into the dark pits of Tartarus, I will do anything to save them. Now if you will not help us, Fine! But when

you and Ouranous cross paths, I hope he is merciful and destroys you quickly, but I'm pretty sure my friends won't be so lucky," I turned, "Come on guys, this was a waste of time."

"Wait!" Hippolyta called,

I turned,

"We will help you." she said, "If you complete my challenge."

"Bring it on!" I said eager that I was swaying her.

"You will face our two toughest warriors, Lightning Horse and Tiger Claw."

Two Amazons stepped forward, one was a skinnier Amazon, she wore light leather all over, and had long black hair, only her face matched the other Amazons. The other one was HUGE, she was a lot

shorter than the other Amazons, but she looked like she could squeeze the life out of a hippo.

"You may choose one demigod, as a team mate." Hippoltya said, "The contest is a fighting match, choose your ally."

I thought about this, The smaller one, which I assumed was Lightning Horse, looked like the one I actually stood a chance against. The other one, there was no way; I looked over at my group.

"Pick me AJ." it was Hector,

I scowled at him

"I agree with Hector on this one AJ." said Jason

"He is the toughest guy we have." Telamacheus noted,

"He is the only one who stands a chance against that human bulldozer." Belarius commented,

"Hector could totaly rock that out of style nobody's world!" Lauren said,

What could I say, everyone seemed to agree that Hector was the best choice, but how could I trust him? I admit he was a good fighter, but the stuff he did, I couldn't award him by letting him help, but

I had no choice.

"Fine!" I said "Hector, you take the big one."

"Thanks AJ!" Hector said eagerly, "You won't regret this, I promise you!"

Hector and I faced our opponents,

"Fight!" Hippolyta commanded,

Lightning horse took off! She ran at me with such speed, I didn't have time to brace myself, I was knocked off my feet instantly. Lightning horse than tried to stomp on me, but I was able roll out of the

way in time, but the stomp barrage kept coming, so I had no choice but to keep rolling. Then I decided to try a different tactic. When the Amazon came down for another stomp, I caught her foot, and

was able to knock her off balance, giving me enough time to get back to my feet. I chanced a glance at Hector, his face was already bloody, but so was Tiger Claw's they seemed to be engaged in hand

to hand combat. I couldn't watch however, Lightning Horse was back on her feet,

"Lightning Horse, Tiger Claw!" Hippolyta called, she managed to get both of their attention. Then Hippolyta threw them both weapons, Lightning horse a bow, and Tiger Claw a sword.

I cursed under my breath, the odds were already steep in their favor, and now it was just plain one sided. Lightning horse loaded her bow and was about to fire. I ran around her, desperate to not

remain in one place. The tactic worked, I managed to avoid one, then two, then three arrows. Then I remembered something. I had a weapon too, Riptide was still in my pocket. Then I looked at

Hector, he so far was able to avoid Tiger Claw's slashes.

"Hector!" I called, at the same time I threw the ball point pen toward him. He managed to catch it, and he uncapped it immediately, I focused back on my fight. Arrows kept soaring in my direction. One

of them missed me by inches. She seemed frustrated by her miss, and the next arrow missed by a foot, then I got an idea. "Some warrior you are." I taunted, "You couldn't hit me if I was three feet in front of you!"

Visible anger appeared on Lightning Horses face. She fired another arrow, and it missed by a mile.

"Are you blind?" I yelled, "Cuz I'm over here!"

"I resent that," Coops said smiling over on the sidelines.

Lightning Horse unloaded all of her arrows, each shot worse than the last. Soon she was out of arrows. This was my chance to strike. I ran up to her, but then, she smacked me right upside the head

with her bow, she was now using it as a staff. I heard Hector laughing as the celestial bronze clashed against each other. I didn't look though; She whacked me again with her bow, now wielding it like

a staff. Hippolyta laughed with amusement. The battle started the go in her favor, I was defenseless I had no choice, but to avoid, Lightning Horse's strikes.

"AJ!" Hector called suddenly, as I looked, a ball-point pen was flying in my direction, I grabbed it, uncapped it, and slashed through the bow, breaking it into two, I kicked Lightning Horse knocking her

off balance, and pointed my sword at her throat, She had lost. I looked over at Hector; he was beaming at me, over the unconscious body of Tiger Claw.

Hippolyta slowly began to clap, "Congratulations, you have proved yourselves most cunning, and strong, you have defeated my strongest warriors, we will now help you defeat Ouranous."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Preparations

Hector walked up beside me to face Hippolyta. "We need to leave as soon as possible." I explained to her,

"We do not require preparation," Hippolyta said, "The Amazons are always ready for battle!"

"Well that's convenient." Lauren commented

"Where is our destination?" Hippolyta inquired,

"Mount Tamalpais," I said, "Where Atlas held up the sky."

"Then we must leave immediately," Hippolyta replied, "Stag Horn, ready our ships, we sail for Tamalpais!"

One of the Amazons grunted, and beckoned a couple more of them to follow.

"I assume you'll want your weapons back." Hippolyta said to us. As she said this, the Amazon that we first met brought out the sack with everyone's weapons in it. They were quickly retrieved. I fastened Backbiter to my belt.

"Now let us go." Said Hippolyta, and she led the way back up to the beaches. My lungs filled with wonderful sea air as I climbed out of the sand mound. It was refreshing to be back outside. On the shore, the team of Amazons that were dismissed earlier were preparing four wooden vessels. Everyone started toward them.

"Achilles Jackson," said a serene voice behind me. I turned around to face a woman I'd seen before, only in a dream. She was a tall woman with Levi jeans and a Shirt that said "Go Green!" Her brown hair and green eyes were stunning.

"My name is Gaea, I have come to aid you on your quest." She said

"I thought the gods couldn't help heroes on their quests!" I said and immediately wished I didn't. Gaea began to laugh.

"God? No no, my dear boy, I am Gaea, Mother Earth, mother of the titans, the ancient laws to not apply to me. Anyway, I've come to give you this." She revealed a small vial of electric blue liquid.

"What is it?" I asked,

"A mixture of nectar, juice from the apples of Hespiridis, and water from the river Styx." Gaea said

"To make.." I said not satisfied

"Your army," Gaea said, "Your name is a powerful thing Achilles. If used correctly, this concoction will grant you an army of soldiers, just remember Achilles, and you'll know what to do."

"Why can't you just tell me?" I said a little annoyed,

"Because, you're about to miss the boats!" she said urgently,

I turned , and sure enough the tide was coming in, bringing the ships out to sea. I took the vial of liquid, said thanks, and dashed off.

"When all seems lost," Gaea called, "Remember the stars!"

I didn't know what she meant at all, but I nodded. I managed to board one of the ships before it was out of reach. The deck was manned by the Amazons; everything seemed to be in order. I saw Coops (Son of Eros) sitting against the mast quietly. I went to sit beside him.

"Hello AJ." He said politely,

"How'd you know it was me?" I asked looking at the band that covered his blind eyes.

"I smelled you," Coops said smiling,

"Smelled me?"

"I smell a lot of sweat, only you and one other person did enough work to perspirate at that rate, and you are not Hector because you didn't make a plop when you sat down."

"That's amazing Coops!" I said

"Not as amazing as being able to see." Said Coops longingly, "How does it feel AJ? To be able to look onto the horizon and admire the beauty the gods have blessed us with, to be in danger and know that you can always rely on your eyes to guard you from incoming danger? To not have to rely on smell and sound for everything?

"I don't know, I never really thought about that."

"I didn't expect you did," Coops admitted, "People never truly appreciate what they have until its gone."

"Yeah," I agreed

"Who is she?" Coops asked

"Excuse me?" I asked confused

"The girl, you had a couple friends abducted by Ouranous right? You liked one of them."

"How did you know."

"I'm the son of Eros, more commonly known as Cupid, I just know these things."

"Her name is Jordan." I said,

"Pretty?"

"Yes, definetly," I said, "Selfless, kind, gentle, graceful… amazing."

Coops laughed, "This puts me at ease." He said,

"How?"

"Because, I know you will do your best out on the battlefield, knowing if you win you will see her again. Very epic, if you ask me. Whenever you even think of giving up, her image will pop in your mind, and you'll find the strength to continue. This combined with your love for your family and friends almost seems to guarantee our victory."

"So you think we are going to win this?" I asked

I saw Coops lift his arm and feel for my shoulder. "I know we will," he said, looking determined,

"How much longer do you think we are going to be on this boat?" I asked

Coops once again smiled, "I overheard one of the Amazons gloating about these ships and their magical properties. I heard they can reach any destination within an hour. We'll be there in no time."

Our conversation died out after that. I fished out the vial that Gaea had given me. I didn't know what in the world to do with it, and her hint about the stars wasn't helpful at all. The stars couldn't possibly help in a battle. They were useful for navigation, but that was about it. I didn't think I was supposed to drink it, because that would have been simple enough to explain. I knew that Achilles didn't ever have a magical potion either. I stuffed it back in my pocket, no wiser than I was when I had taken it out. I thought, and there was much that needed to be done. We needed to stand up against an army of monsters, that I knew was waiting for us, we needed to fight and defeat Ouranous, and we needed a way to find a way to suspend the sky back to its original state before it crushed us to death. Suddenly a horn blared, "Land HO!" Yelled one of the Amazons," sure enough we were nearing California. I could even see Mount Tamalpais in the distance. We were almost there. I went up to the Amazon captain at the helm.

"Signal the other ships to dock near those woods over there." I said pointing to a wood, about a fourth mile away from the Mountain. "We can prepare there, and strike just before dawn."

The Amazon grunted and blew a horn in a Morse code type way. Then she made way for the wood I had pointed out. It wasn't long before we were all back on land. We set up camp in a small clearing. The Amazons were applying war paint, I was merely staring at the ground, waiting. On the ground was an anthill. Thousands of ants were probably in there. I had learned somewhere that ants were extremely strong for their size and were capable of remarkable things. I wished I could have an ally like them. I brought back out the vial of liquid. _Just remember Achilles, and you'll know what to do. _Said a voice in my head. I thought, Achilles was a warrior in the Trojan War, who defeated many warriors, and a great commander, a commander of his own legion of soldiers, magical soldiers that originated from… Ants!

"That's it!" I said out loud, some people looked in my direction, but I ignored them. I gleefully pulled open the vial, and dumped its contents on the anthill. There was no effect, other than the ants rushing to escape the hill. I felt highly foolish for several minutes, until the anthill started glowing, then one of the ants started to morph and grow, then two, then three, then fifty. Before my very eyes ants were transforming. The first had completed its metamorphosis. The ant now looked like a man, burly and gruff. His eyes looked hungry, as if ready to fight. He looked in great shape. He was dressed in full greek armor, and he had a short beard, the rest of the men that appeared looked like copies of the first, with slight variations in eye color, beard length, and height.

"What's going on!" Hector sounded alarmed making his way toward me.

Our group had to keep backing up into the woods to make room for the increasing amount of soldiers that were popping into the clearing. After the last of them appeared, the first walked toward me, as the others gathered in formation. He walked straight over to me, and he bowed low. "Lord Achilles, it is good to be back in your service."

"Thank you," I said uncertainly, "And you are?"

"My name is Archer, Captain, and second in command of the Myrmidons, second to you of course. Our men our ready for battle. We await your orders." With that he walked back to the other soldiers and fell into formation. I was about to shout an order like "Prepare for battle!" or something like that, when something else caught my eye, a glint of light coming from the bushes at our feet. I moved over to them and found that the bushes were already removed and placed together in order to crudely hide something. Seconds later I knew why. An eight foot tall man, he had light brown skin, and slicked- back dark hair. His clothes were drenched with sweat. Oh yeah, and he was unconscious. I nudged him until he stirred. Once he came to his senses he looked at me, and blinked several times. "You have come to defeat my father?" He asked in a voice deeper than James Earl Jones'

"Father?" I asked, then realization hit me, "Then you must be…"

"Yes," the man nodded getting to his feet, "I am Atlas."

**I must say, despite getting positive feedback regarding traffic, I'm not getting much on reviews, please feel free to critique my work, say what you like about it, guess what happens next, ext. All help and comments are appreciated, regardless of how harsh it may seem.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Enemy from the Past

I grew up on listening to my parents' adventures before I went to bed at night. I remembered well the one where Atlas had escaped from under the sky and became a big problem to my parents and Olympus. I had heard he was a black-hearted warrior who cared for no one but himself and power. Yet with all those awful things said, he was standing right in front of me. Contrary to the description my parents gave me, Atlas looked very feeble, ichor , the blood of the divine, was flowing down his face, arms, and legs. It wasn't long before he had collapsed again.

"Please.. " he said, "I need Nectar… Ambrosia…."

"How do I know you won't just attack us once we help you?" I asked

"I am no fool son of Percy Jackson; by the looks of it I am sorely outnumbered." He said weakly "Besides, there is a bigger threat creeping in these woods, making sure that I do not get back my load."

"So you can swear on the river Styx that you will not harm us?" I asked

"I swear." Atlas said

Satisfied I took out my nectar and ambrosia and gave them both to him. As Atlas consumed them the ichor stains faded away, his muscles even bulged a little.

"You said something about a bigger threat." I said,

"Yes," Atlas said darkly, "We must leave this spot before she sees us! She was to keep me out of commission until my father fully returned."

"We won't be able to move all of these people into a hiding place." I commented, "Our best chance is to fight this monster, who is it?"

"From what I heard," Atlas said, "She is the only monster your father did not defeat. Well… Along with her pet, and she's…"

"Right here." Said a high pitched voice, I turned to where the voice came from, and there stood a very fat lady with beady eyes, nasty teeth, and a floppy denim hat. At her side was a Chihuahua with a rhinestone collar. It looked really angry.

"No!" Atlas said, at the sound of her voice,

"Oh yes dear Atlas," said the fat lady, "Did you think, I was going to let you go back to the mountain? I thought you didn't like holding up the sky, isn't that why you let that poor boy hold it for you?"

"What!" I said alarmed looking at Atlas,

"It was a mistake, son of Percy Jackson, if I had known the consequences of my actions, I would have never…"

''Son of Percy Jackson Hmmm?" The fat lady said, "I do seem to recall someone by that name, someone that I made jump off The Gateway Arch."

"You!" I said in realization, "You are Echidna!"

"Yes," she said, "I am Echidna, mother of monster, powerful and terrible!"

"And that is…." I said pointing to the barking Chihuahua, "the Chimera!"

"Yes," Echidna said unpleasantly, "And he is very hungry." As she started to cackle, Chimera barked, and grew, to the size of a Rottweiler, then the size of a large lion. It had the blood stained head of a Lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a large snake. Every bit of it was intimidating. It roared, as if already triumphant. Echidna, who's eyes had formed into slits, and had grown scales, mounted Chimera. She snapped her fingers so there was a large ring of fire surrounding her, Chimera, and myself. I had no chance of escaping. My only choice was to fight. I drew Riptide and assumed battle stance. The lion inhaled and ejected a large pillar of flame out of its mouth. I dived aside to avoid getting burned. I realized I had dived in the wrong direction; the snake lunged for me, trying to sink its venomous fangs into my body. I was barely able to avoid it. Echidna laughed, "You may be able to evade my attacks now, but once you tire, you will not stand a chance!"

She was right, I couldn't dodge forever, I had to think of a plan, I remembered how my dad had lost, he was poisoned by that snake, and he was forced to retreat. _So that's my first objective_ I thought, _Get rid of that snake_. I decided to worry about the rest of it later. I ran toward the back of Chimera, Echidna had a look of deep confusion on her face as she watched. The snake lunged again and again. It was lightning fast, it was like catching an arrow, but on my third attempt I managed to grab the serpent by its throat. The serpent's eyes seem to grow with fear at being caught. I took Riptide and beheaded it. Chimera roared terribly and turned with such force, that it knocked me nearly to the edge of the ring of fire. It shot another pillar of fire at me. I managed to roll aside, but my sleeve had caught fire. I put out the flame. There were two animals left. The lion, and the goat body. If I got to close to the lion, it would bite my head off, if I stayed far away from it, it would shoot fire at me. The goat on the other hand looked harmless, a furry body and legs didn't scare me nearly as much as the lion did. Again I ran around the lion. Sensing my pattern, Echidna guided Chimera to turn around, but she thought I was going to do further damage to the snake. She was mistaken. I plunged Riptide into the goat body. This time, Chimera roared for a long time, it sounded truly agonizing, as Chimera gave a final roar, it exploded into a pile of dust. Echidna fell from the air and onto the ground. I put my sword to her throat. Her eyes were filled with fear and anger. "This isn't over." She said, I moved my sword to strike, but Echidna vanished into a cloud of green smoke before I could do it. The ring of fire died out, and I collapsed exhausted. Jeff (Son of Apollo) ran over to me, he gave me some nectar and ambrosia to take. I took as much as I could risk, and I already felt my strength returning to me. After a minute, I stood up, and walked over to Atlas.

"You have some serious explaining to do!" I said sharply "How did you escape again from under the sky?"

Atlas frowned, "Echidna tricked me, and she promised me that she wished to release me, and allow me to take control of an army that she had assembled and take Olympus, but it was all a trick. She had brought a Half-blood with her. The boy had no idea who he was; he thought he was just helping me hold up a giant rock pile or something. Despite his ignorance, the boy was already arrogant, so he didn't complain when I let him hold the load alone. I claimed to go drink of water, but I had no intention of returning. I had thought Echidna would switch out Half-bloods from time to time, but she did not. Her plan was to wait for the boy to die of exhaustion, and then have the sky meet the earth once again. I tried to stop her, but Chimera bit me several times defeating me. Echidna claimed that she wanted things the way they were eons ago, but I hated my father, I couldn't allow him to return, but like in the old days, I failed."

"So what are you going to do now?" I asked, trying to ignore the part about him trying to take Olympus.

"I will make my back up to Tamalpais, and reclaim my load." He said,

"Good, then come with us." I said, "We are about to fight Ouranous and his army!"

"I will do what I can to help." Atlas said, "But after this is over, the gods and their children, are still my enemy!"

"Agreed," I said "But for now, let's kick some BUTT!"

We shook hands on it, which is something my parents would have probably killed me for, and we moved back over to everyone.

"Alright!" I shouted, "This is the moment we've been waiting for! Myrmidons! Amazons! Half-Bloods! Get ready; this will be the toughest fight of your life! Some of us will not see the end of this day, but we will win this day! Remember the Half-bloods he wrongly put in Tartarus, remember them! They are the reason we are here. We will not subject ourselves to his dark rule again! Everyone! Let's move out!"

There were loud whoops and cheers, I turned on my heels and started marching toward Mount Tamalpais. Footsteps like thunder sounded behind me.

**Thanks to the people who reviewed the previous chapter. I appreciate you guys taking the time out, and reading these chapters, you guys are the only reason I do this. I hope you guys will enjoy the upcoming final battle.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Final Showdown

My breath quickened as the mountain in the distance grew closer and closer. _This is it,_ I thought to myself, there was no turning back; even then I could make out the forms of hundreds of monsters surrounding the mountain. Dracnae, Lastrigonians, Hell hounds, Harpies, Telekhines, emposa, a couple drakons and some creatures I'd never even heard of, there were some creatures with a tiger body and an eagle for a head, there were giant panther cats with turtle shells, and a mammoth type thing with a python instead of a trunk. The monsters made a perimeter around the foot of the mountain. For the moment it was a good thing that they arranged like this. We could charge through the thin line and work our way up, but the monsters would then quickly regroup and attack us from behind. At the very top of the mountain, I saw him. Ouranous stood there in black battle armor. His arms were folded as if waiting patiently for us to make our appearance. I stopped walking just before the trees cleared into the valley. I signaled everyone to do the same.

"I need all the archers I have," I said quietly,

Without a word, half-bloods, Amazons, and Myrmidons came forward brandishing bows with full quivers, I had about fifty of them.

"Alright," I said once they had gathered around, "We have an advantage, and they do not know we are here just yet, we can easily take care of a handful of those monsters with a sneak attack."

"You want us to fire within the trees?" Jeff said smiling,

"Exactly," I said nodding, "We can do this guys, get in to position."

The archers did so, they scattered throughout the front of the woods, and I saw some of the ones closer to me pull back their bow, an arrow waiting to be fired.

"FIRE!" I bellowed, and the fifty archers simultaneously released their arrows, the attack was a success, in the distance, roars of monsters could be heard, and several could be seen exploding into dust. Ouranous's figure at the top of the mountain, unfolded his arms.

"Ah," he said, and I immediately wondered how he could channel his voice that far, " You have made your entrance, step forward Achilles Jackson so we can begin your destruction. "

I did not take a step, I was not about to give away our position with a foolish act. I signaled the archers to fire again. More monsters fell and exploded. I heard Ouranous sigh,

"If you do that again, I'll have to retaliate, that wood will burn to the ground, and your army will burn along with it, so if I were you, I would step out of there."

I had no choice, if I stayed in hiding we would lose before we even started. I stepped forward uncapping Riptide, everyone followed, I walked about one hundred yards out, and then stopped again.

"My, My," said Ouranous still standing at the top of the mountain, "What an army you have put together. It is truly a shame, that they will all die and Atlas too, what a surprise, you will suffer with them."

Atlas gulped,

"So Achilles Jackson, you've made it, and in just the nick of time. At noon today I will be fully restored and unstoppable, and this place will be crushed by the sky, prepare to die!"

As he said this, the monsters waiting at the foot of the mountain charged, our troops charged in response. It was probably the scariest moment in my life, charging toward the enemies. I've been to the movies, and I'd seen what happens to the people who are on the front lines. If they are not completely obliterated by the arrows, they are sure to be run through by spears, or just plain trampled to death. I let out a yell, and I began to fight. The collision fortunately did not result in my death, but the same cannot be said for some of the Myrmidons, who some of which were instantly smashed away by the Laistryigonians. In the heat of battle, I lost all line of thinking, I just reacted. I continued to run toward the mountain, slashing monsters that got in my way. Once, while I was running, a Hellhound pounced me, and was about to bite my head off when it exploded. Coops had had shot it with one of its arrows. "Get to the mountain, Go!" was all he said. The battle raged around me, I saw Zeke blasting his enemies with Lightning bolts, Angel commanding a bunch of undead warriors, and Eddie hitting his enemies with a mini hurricane generated from a nearby creek. The rest of them did what they could. I was now on the mountain, Atlas was at my side climbing with me. A dracnae tried to follow, but I was able to kick her off sending her plummeting to her death. Occasionally throughout the hike we were faced with a monster or too, but they were no match for Atlas who simply swatted them aside. It wasn't long before we were able to make it to the top. Ouranous was still standing there. I examined the area. We were on the highest peak of the mountain. Several lower peaks surrounded it. I had to remember to be careful where I walked so I wouldn't risk falling off. I then saw where the sky and earth were touching. It looked as if the sky funneled down and lay only in the spot where it was supposed to be held. Yet the diameter of the funnel was slowly growing. I guessed as soon as the sky grew to heavy and cracked the peak, the sky would completely land destroying us all. Ouranous began to clap.

"Well, well, well, we have finally made it, the battle that will determine who the world rightfully belongs to, me or to my pathetic grandchildren, who are unable to even help their champions in their darkest hour. I must say I am not surprised that you have made it this far, I made the trip relatively easy. Why else do you think your journey has been practically clear of obstacles and monsters? Because, I wanted you to make it to this mountain, I wanted to see your face when you lose just like your father lost, only this time I won't spare any lives, it's high time that I set an example, and it's YOU ACHILLES JACKSON that I want to be made the example. I want you to die in front of everyone so that the world may know that I demand complete obedience!"

I capped Riptide and put it away,

"I hope you don't plan on surrender, because I will show you know mercy."

"I'm not surrendering," I said drawing Backbiter,

"Ah, I nearly forgot about that sword, Even with that blade you can't beat me." He said raising his right arm,

"We'll see," I said,

a giant blue beam of light shot from Ouranous' right hand, and the beam soared toward me. Atlas dove in the way, blasting him instead of me. This was my chance, as Atlas fell to the ground, I leaped over his body and attacked, Ouraonous had drew his own sword so fast I didn't see him do it. His sword met mine and sparks flew. Ouranous began his attack, It took every maneuver I knew to stay alive. I was dodging and blocking, Ouranous easily had the upper hand, and he began to drive me back to the cliffs. I would have much preferred to fight with Riptide, I was so much more used to its weight, and if I kept fighting the way I was, Ouranous would knock me off the edge. I had to do something unexpected and fast. Without thinking I let go of Backbiter with one hand and got Riptide out, careful not to stop blocking Ouranous' oncoming attacks. I managed to uncap riptide, and I continued to fight. Now with two swords at my disposal, I felt I now had the advantage. I swiped with Riptide, and Ouranous blocked, and with Ouranous concentrating on Riptide, I swung Backbiter at Ouranous' leg. Ouranous let out a yelp of pain, but he did not falter. I continued to fight, letting each swing flow into the next one. Despite being a Super Titan, or whatever you call him, Ouranous was only one person, he couldn't defend against two swords at once; however, he was actually pretty good, I had to work hard for each small cut I was able to inflict on Ouranous, sweat began to pour down my face, I slashed at his arm with Riptide, it bounced harmlessly off his skin. Riptide was useless after all, I was beginning to doubt the truth in Backbiter being the only sword able to hurt him, but it was then revealed to me how true Chiron's words were. I slashed again, only with Backbiter this time, making a very deep cut on Ouranous's arm. Moments later there were shouts of joy from below. Apparently, we had defeated the last of the monsters down there. Ouranous stepped back,

"I had just about enough of you, and your resistance, it is time to end this." He looked up at the sky and began to laugh, "Achilles Jackson, prepare yourself, you are about to see my most powerful ability," He stretched both arms toward the sky, " Beings of the night!' He said, "You have found refuge in my domain, you were sent there as memories, but you will now come as you once were, Come oh beings of the night sky and join this battle, Fight!"

The earth began to rumble, and it seemed as if the night was getting darker. I looked up at the sky, and several stars were moving, they were all channeling toward the funnel of sky touching the ground. After several moments the funnel was shining very brightly, filled with light. Then a figure stepped out onto the cliffs, It was a giant golden bear.

"Achilles Jackson, say hello to the great bear, better known as Ursa Major!"

"But that's a constellation! That can't be real!" I said,

"Oh, but it is, and look here comes more,"

As he said this, a giant lion came out onto the cliffs, as well as a hydra, a squid, a crab, and a dragon all golden like the bear.

"This ought to even the odds a little," Said Ouranous, "You see, I have summoned the constellations to battle, as you know the night sky was filled with terrible monsters of the past, now I am going to use them against you. Go my creatures! Destroy their army! Except you Ursa, I want you to take care of our friend here,"

This was bad, no doubt our numbers were greatly dwindling thanks to the army of monsters, but now there were giant monsters, they had to defend against, and they would no doubt be destroyed. Atlas still lay there unconscious, I was going to have no help with this one. Ursa roared loudly and charged. I slashed but Backbiter merely bounced off its shining body, _How was I supposed to fight the stars?_ I had remembered what Gaea had told me, "Remember the stars," she said, but how were they supposed to help? Right now the stars were trying to kill me. I started to think, _there were other constellations too, Ouranous said he summoned them all,_ The bear pounced on me. I was unable to move.

"You forgot something Ouranous," I said trying to ignore Ursa's teeth shining in my face, "Monsters weren't the only constellations up there, there were good guys too!" Just as I said this the bear collapsed on me, apparently dead,

"No!" Ouranous shouted,

I pushed the bear off me and saw that the bear was shot with golden arrows, I looked over at its attacker, and a golden girl stood there, she looked about thirteen years old, and dressed like one of the Hunters of Artemis, I had no clue as to who this might be, She was not a constellation I was familiar with. Behind her stood a golden man with lion skin armor, I recognized him as Heracles, I recognized also, Castor and Pollux (Gemini), Perseus, and a golden Pegasus. They didn't say a word, but they ran down the side of the mountain to join the battle.

"I didn't count on that backfiring," Ouranous said, "but no matter I can finish you myself!"

"Think again father!" said a booming voice from behind Ouranous, It was Atlas, he was awake, and he was slowly lifting the sky funnel up.

"Get away from there!" Ouranous shouted, and charged toward him,

I managed to cut across his path. "You're not going anywhere." I said leveling Backbiter,

Ouranous swiped with his sword, I blocked with surprising ease, Ouranous was getting weaker. I began a flurry of strikes driving him across the top of the mountain.I was going to win! I disarmed Ouranous with a sword maneuver my dad taught me when I was really young, and knocked him down to his knees, I held Backbiter to his throat,

"You have lost!" I said venomously, I raised my sword to finish him, but then I felt a very sharp agonizing pain in my right foot, I screamed in pain and crumbled to the ground. I looked and saw that an arrow had been shot into my heel. I looked to see where it came from and, I saw Echidna vanish in another cloud of green smoke from one of the smaller peaks below. Ouranous got to his feet and grabbed me by the throat, he raised me up in the air and began to laugh, "No, You have lost." He said, he began to squeeze, I was getting desperate for air, and on top of that, the pain in my heel was excruciating. There was a war cry from behind me and a giant war hammer smashed against Ouranous' skull, Ouranous dropped me out of shock,

"Eat that, ya large sack of turd!" shouted Hector,

Ouranous turned toward him, and picked up his sword. Hector's hammer was broken from the blow, which left Hector defenceless, Ouranous laughed as he impaled Hector with his sword and kicked him off the mountaintop.

"No!" I yelled, and I managed to get back on my feet. Caught off guard by my quick recovery, Ouranous stood there stunned, and with lightning speed, I plunged Backbiter through Ouranous' armor and into his chest, Ouranous let out a great shout and fell to the ground, he tried to get up, but he could not, and after one final effort to get back on his feet he collapsed and lay there driving the sword further into his chest and completely impale him. As Atlas managed to lift the entire load back onto his shoulders, Ouranous began to fade, with the satisfaction of defeating Ouranous, I realized the growing pain in my heel, and how exhausted I felt. I felt my legs give way and I collapsed on the ground and passed out.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: The Closing Curtain

I woke to the smell of pine, and I felt the warmth of a fire. I tasted something in my mouth too. It tasted like grandma's blue cookies. After the apparent straw was pushed away from my mouth, I smacked my lips to savor the taste.

"He's awake!" said a serene voice next to me; I didn't have to open my eyes to know whose it was. I heard many people surround the comfortable bed I was apparently laying in. I couldn't bare it any longer, I opened my eyes, and light flooded into them. I had to squint until they adjusted. When my eyes got into focus, I saw two baby brown eyes staring into mine. Her hair was lustrous brown, and she had the most gorgeous face.

"We really gotta stop meeting like this." Jordan said to me flashing her brilliant smile,

I smiled back at her, I was back in the big house, I didn't ask how, because I couldn't have been happier. I sat up, and I saw many people around me. I saw my mom, my dad, Chiron, Theo, Hippolyta, Archer, a dude with some cool looking sun glasses on, and a man in a suit with a fine cut beard and bright green eyes.

"Rise and shine sweetie," Mom said giving me a big hug, "I am so proud of you!"

"We are so proud of you!" My dad corrected. He held out his hand for a high-five, and I gladly oblidged.

"You saved our lives," Theo said and we bumped fists, "So how did you do it? How did you beat Ouranous?"

"He fought bravely, and he has the spirit of a true warrior!" Hippolyta said,

"I am proud to call him my captain!" Archer said firmly, I noticed his face had a huge slash across it.

"I am also curious as to how the journey went," Chiron said, "You had failed to give me updates via Iris message."

"Oh sorry," I said feeling guilty that I forgot to message him. Then I started to recount our journey. I told them about the trip to west camp half-blood. I told them how Hector came back to help, and how we took a detour to Hawaii. I told them about our meeting with the Amazons, and the formation of the Myrmidons. Then I tried to recount the last battle as best I could. When I was almost done, I remembered I was shot in the foot! I looked down at my right heel and there was no arrow. I felt no pain in that spot either.

"But how…."

"Consider it a gift from me dude," said the guy in sunglasses, he was wearing a sleeveless shirt, and he looked like one of those guys that didn't have any problems with the ladies. "Name's Apollo," he said, "I felt bad that we couldn't help you on your quest so I healed your foot."

"We?" I asked

"We," answered the man in the suit, He had a thunderous voice, even if he said that one word in a calm voice, I recognized him from a field trip long ago.

"Lord Zeus," I said surprised,

"Yes, I cannot express the gratitude that we all have for you defeating Ouranous."

"Yeah dude," said Apollo, "In fact I CAN express it, in Haiku!" All of the adults in the room groaned, as Apollo cleared his throat dramatically,

"Ouranous is Dumb

That is why AJ beat him

I am Amazing!"

Needless to say I didn't find the poem filled with gratitude and thanks, I actually found it rather stupid, but Apollo stoop there expectantly as if waiting for his applause. None came.

"As I was saying," said Zeus, "We could not be happier to know that Ouranous is back where he belongs trapped in the heavens above us. So I offer you this, I will make you the same offer I made to your father years ago. There is always room on Olympus for one more. You have exceeded all expectations and did what some half-bloods couldn't do in their wildest imaginations. Would you like to be a god on Olympus? You would be forever young, forever strong, and forever living."

I didn't even consider the request, "Thanks for the offer," I said, "but no thanks, I prefer hero work, I find that even the gods are too constricted by the ancient laws to do what needs to be done in times of trouble. If I were a god, I could not have gone on the quest I had just completed. But I do have a request."

"What is it," Zeus asked it,

"I would like to be an honorary half-blood," I said, "I'm tired of being outcast from everyone else, I do not want to be known as a mere mortal, I am not ashamed of my true parentage, but I would like everyone to know, that I am as able as a Demigod."

"That is all?" Zeus asked,

"That is all," I said smiling,

"Very well," Zeus said, "Hence forth you will no longer be down sized by your mortality, you will not be isolated , you shall be known as a great hero! Those who impune you will meet the wrath of the gods! My job here is done, Apollo!" He turned on his heels and left, Apollo followed him, "Later Dude," he said as he left giving me a thumbs up.

"So continue with your story!" Theo said,

"I forgot where I was," I said laughing,

"You just got shot in the foot I think," Theo reminded,

"Oh yeah," I said, and I continued the story, I backtracked because I had forgot to mention the constellation power Ouranous had unleashed. When I had told them about the mysterious archer girl that saved my life, my parents looked at each other and smiled, but they didn't interrupt. I told them how Hector saved my life and died, and how I stabbed Ouranous through his chest, and beat him.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" said my dad, "Then who shot you in the foot?" I explained how I saw Echidna on one of the distant cliffs, and how I thought it was her that shot me. "I'm surprised it didn't kill me." I said,

"AJ," said Chiron patiently, "You got shot in your heel, not necessarily a fatal injury."

"But Achilles didn't survive," I said

"That is because, that is the spot that held him to this earth, the blow would be fatal to him, and him alone."

"Well I'm glad that you are alive too!" Said Jordan, and she gave me a warm hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. I blushed in spite of myself. I looked at my mom who was giving me that "I told you so" look,

"Well I must be leaving Achilles Jackson," said Hippolyta, "Zeus teleported us all here until we gave you proper thanks, I thank you for allowing us to do battle at your side, it was a real privilege." She left the big house. Archer stepped forward,

"I too must go for now Commander Achilles," he said, as he said this he held out a old fashion war horn. "If you ever need us, blow into this horn, and the Myrmidons will answer the call." He said, and he too turned and left.

The rest of the day was pretty awesome, I was the coolest kid at Camp Half-Blood, every so often, people would come up to me and say "You Rock!" The only saddening part of the day is when we had to go to the funeral pyre and remember the fallen Half-bloods at the battle, among them were Telamachus (Son of Hermes), Herman (Son of Ares), James (Son of Athena), Lauren (Daughter of Aphrodite), and of course Hector (Son of Ares) who had won back my respect by saving my life. I could not help but remember the awful way he treated Jordan, but I believe in the end he was truly sorry for his actions. We were indeed sad for our fallen comrades, but that did not stop us from partying it up! Half of the campers spent the last three days in Tartarus, and they were sure happy to be out, There was celebration cake in the mess hall, and the music was blarrring! To top it all off, Jordan and I were now holding hands 24/7. Later that day the two of us went down to the stables to feed the pegasi. Penelope went crazy with joy when she saw her old master. It took her twenty minutes to calm down. The others were pretty giddy as well. I remembered my promise to Penelope, and I made a mental note to take her out somewhere once she was a little older.

"Achilles Jackson," Said a familiar voice behind me, I looked and Gaea was standing at the entrance, I walked over leaving Jordan to snuggle with Penelope.

"I am so thankful for what you have done," she said,

"Don't mention it," I said

"I cannot think of any gift to give so I will tell you this, In times of trouble, you have my favor, and I will help you, I hope to meet you again someday my child,"

I nodded, and she walked off and with a pop she vanished, leaving several leaves falling in her place.

I went back into the stables, and I helped her feed the rest of the pegasi. This is when it struck me that it was all over. I had done it. I had saved the world, my friends, and my family, heck I was even dating the girl of my dreams. Life was going good. The rest of the summer was pretty mellow compared to those three action packed days. It did -not take long for the camp counselors to pick the Camp Half-blood bead for the summer. The picture on the bead was a chariot, which was my insignia. I added this bead to my eight other beads. I was highly flattered to be the highlight of the year, and I couldn't stop smiling when they announced it.

I stood in the woods, in Greek armor. Jordan stood at my side she smiled at me from within her helmet. "You ready?" She asked, flashing her smile, I nodded; Theo gave me a thumbs up and readied his bow. The conch horn for capture of the flag blared in the distance, and the three of us charged toward the enemy flag. As I charged toward enemy territory I couldn't help but think that t this time that things would go differently…

The End


	13. Credits, thanks, and plea for feedback

Credits and thanks

I once again claim that I do not own any of the characters present in Percy Jackson and The Olympians series; It all grew from the imagination of Rick Riordan. AJ Jackson has now completed his first quest, I don't know rather if it will be his last or not. I purposefully left some things open in the story, but I really need some feedback. I need loads of positive reviews before I will consider continue the legend of AJ Jackson. For the few that reviewed my work, critiqued it, and just plain made it clear that they loved it, I give you my upmost thanks. There is no way to put into words how glad at the success of this story. Despite the lack of reviews, I'm nearing 1000 hits this month, and being a rookie writer I find that acceptable. But out of those 1000 only about 12 people told me how they felt. So do you want more AJ Jackson? Or not? Please tell me what you think. And again thank you. P.S I'm sorry about the feeble ending, but it's all could come up with. I hope you guys can forgive me for that.

From

Ryan Grooms

AKA

RyRySamurai92


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